Energy Day at COP26: more voices against coal, gas and oil

Campaigners outside the Climate Conference, and delegates and other representatives participating in it, have called for coal to be consigned to history. A total of 77 signatories, including Chile, have pledged to end the use of coal. However, 506 oil and gas producers plan to add 190 billion barrels of oil to their production portfolios over the next seven years.

On Wednesday, the sun broke through the Glasgow clouds as delegations and participants prepared for “energy day” at COP26, one of the biggest thematic sessions of the UN climate conference.

Traveling from the city center in a special electric bus provided by the organisers, the UN News team found activists at the gates calling on countries to end their support on arrival at the venue. to coal, gas and oil.

Some of them were even dressed as Pikachu, the small rodent mascot of the Japanese anime Pokémon, which in the series is capable of launching discharges of electricity. Others, armed with signs in different languages, demanded climate justice from their megaphones: “No more fossil fuels.”

Coal Commitments

Inside the Scottish Event Campus, the main gathering of the day began with the co-hosts of COP26 echoing the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres: “consign coal to history”.

Conference President Alok Sharma announced the new “Global Declaration on the Clean Energy Transition”, a commitment to end coal investments, increase clean energy, carry out a just transition and eliminate coal by the 2030s in the main economies, and in the 2040s in the rest.

The commitment has 77 signatories, among which are 46 countries such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile, 23 of which have committed, for the first time, to ending the use of coal as an energy source, he explained.

“All this contributes to promoting a world of zero emissions. We know that there is more to do, it is up to all of us, governments, companies, financial institutions and civil society, and we must continue to enable the moment through alliances and coalitions. I think it is The demise of coal is in sight. I think we are reaching a point where coal power will be history,” Sharma told the plenary hall.

Unfortunately, the largest financiers of coal, China, Japan and Korea, have been left out of the declaration; even though in the past they have pledged to stop funding offshore coal generation by the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which aims to achieve coal phase-out in a sustainable and economically inclusive manner, today welcomed new members, including 7 countries and 14 financial institutions.

Yesterday, the governments of South Africa, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the European Union, announced an ambitious new long-term “Just Energy Transition Partnership” to support South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts. US President Joe Biden and European Union Commissioner Ursula Von de-Leyen introduced the initiative virtually during Wednesday’s events at COP26.

Is not sufficient

While the compromises were somewhat encouraging, civil society organizations are “unclear” outside the plenary hall.

In other press conferences, the German NGO Urgewald and the Climate Action Network expressed their despair at the current energy crisis.

“In the last two years we have seen a rise in policies on coal, but we have hardly seen anything of substance on oil and gas. The reason is that financial institutions that want to move away from fossil fuels face a huge problem is the lack of information,” said Urgewald’s campaign finance manager.

The human rights and environmental organization released its latest “World Oil and Gas Output List,” stating that 506 oil and gas producers plan to add 190 billion barrels of oil equivalent to their production portfolios over the next seven years.

“At least 96% of oil and gas producers want to expand their assets,” added the Urgewald representative. “The industry is on a course of reckless expansion, with dirtier forms of production accounting for 50% of new projects.”

For his part, Jing Zhu, director of the energy justice program at the Center for Biological Diversity in the United States, recalled that “we no longer have time for fossil fuels.”

“We have seen the G20 going in the opposite direction. From 2018 to 2020 the G20 countries have allocated $188 billion for fossil fuels. That is 2.5 times the amount they have allocated for renewables, that is an outrage. “, said.

a new commitment

However, Zhu cautiously announced good news during the press conference. A group of governments and public financial institutions from around the world, including the United States, the European Union, Canada and the United Kingdom, have pledged to end direct support of the fossil fuel energy sector “without interruption” to end of 2022.

The joint announcement made this morning promises to end direct support for international fossil fuel projects “except in limited and clearly defined circumstances consistent with a 1.5°C global warming limit and the goals of the Paris Agreement.” .

“This is the first political commitment to phase out funding, not just for coal, but also for oil and gas. If carried out, this would mean that the $18 billion a year spent on fossil fuels would shift to renewables. “explained Zhu, who is also a member of the Climate Action Network.

The commitment, although historic, is not enough, he said, asking China, Japan and Korea to also join this initiative.

“We stand up to our addiction to fossils. We urge an end to the development of fossil fuels around the world, nationally and internationally.”

In response to questions from journalists, the expert explained what “unbridled fossil fuel projects” mean, while hurling harsh words at world leaders.

“Carbon capture and storage and other fossil fuel projects that have some kind of technical fix are allowed; which sounds a lot like false promises of zero emissions by 2050. It’s consistent with leadership’s lack of courage. At the same time, should we decide to give them the benefit of the doubt, there is a commitment to clean energy, especially clean energy manufacturing, by many of these countries.They see domestic investment as a potential advantage to their own economies. The United States, for example, has its own plans to export such renewable energy,” Zhu added.

The energy problem

Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, also issued a call for action during Wednesday’s main event. He recalled that the energy sector is responsible for two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions.

And yet “759 million people in the world still lack access to basic electricity, and more than 2.6 billion do not have access to hygienic solutions for cooking,” he stressed.

The special representative cited the recent United Nations Environment Program Emissions Gap Report, which indicates that we are headed for a dangerous global temperature increase of 2.7 degrees by the end of the century, which would mean a threat to life as we know it today.

“We have to radically rethink the way we deliver energy services; we must respond to the call of the UN Secretary General to make coal history (…) From 2021, there should be no new coal plants underway” Ogunbiyu urged.

According to the United Nations Development Program, an average of $423 billion of public funds are spent on fossil fuel subsidies each year, and despite international commitments, subsidies are not going down, they are going up.

These subsidies are a major obstacle to climate and sustainable development goals because they encourage investment in pollution and discourage the use of renewable energy.

“Time is running out and we must not be decisive and commit to the collaboration and financing necessary to make possible a just, equitable and inclusive energy transition for those who have contributed least to climate change,” said the special representative.

Eliminating fossil fuels and taxing carbon will spur growth and innovation. Development agency studies show that this measure could provide up to 10 years of investment in innovation and green infrastructure, bringing growth and new, more secure jobs.

Source: United Nations