The era of fossil fuel-powered cars in the spotlight at COP26

A world where all vehicles are electric and affordable, where shipping ships use only sustainable fuels and planes run on green hydrogen may sound like science fiction, but at COP26 many governments and companies say they are going to make it happen ; At the same time as in other rooms, the possible final agreement of the Conference on Climate Change is being discussed.

Wednesday was another day of new announcements, declarations and coalition building, this time focused on the transport sector, which is responsible for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (IPCC).

The sector’s emissions have more than doubled since 1970, with around 80% of the increase coming from road vehicles. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that the global transport sector is almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels.

But this could change in the coming decades.

At the Climate Change Conference, COP26, more than a hundred national governments, cities, states and large companies have signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans to end the sale of internal combustion engines by 2035 and in major world markets in 2040. At least thirteen countries have also committed to ending the sale of heavy-duty vehicles that use fossil fuels by 2040.

From many cities, initiatives are already underway, such as in the Latin American cities of Bogotá, Cuenca and Salvador, which aim to achieve zero-emission public transport fleets by 2035.

“The message to decision-makers is: We have to make sure that we start to normalize that by 2035 we have to stop selling petrol and diesel cars. For buses, it will be earlier, 2030; heavy transport, it can take a little longer, 2040. The question is to get used to the idea of having a calendar to be able to go to zero emissions options in all areas.This is not only for the advanced markets of the developing countries, but also for the economies in development roads, because we know that the worst pollution is there,” said Mónica Araya, of the global initiative Drive Electric Campaign.

Araya has made it very clear: during the transition, developing countries cannot become the dumping ground for the old technology of the richest, but must be seen as drivers of great change.

“I grew up in Costa Rica. I remember going to school on a third-hand bus imported from the United States. That experience has shaped a lot of my thinking about this transition. I know that, on the one hand, we have to make sure that we transform the big markets that produce trucks, buses, cars, (but also) we have to activate the changes in those markets so that there is a domino effect,” he explained.

A green shipping industry

The shipping industry has also taken action today, with 200 companies across the shipping value chain committing to scale up and commercialize zero emission ships and fuels by 2030. They have also called on governments to put in place the right regulations and infrastructure to support a just transition by 2050.

At the same time, 19 countries have signed the Clydebank Declaration to support the establishment of zero-emission shipping routes. This entails the creation of at least six zero-emission maritime corridors by the middle of this decade, with many more expected to be operational by 2030.

“There are about 50,000 merchant ships in the world, so the task is big, and I think different shipping sectors will move at different rates. That’s why the Clydebank Declaration’s commitment to green corridors allows early adopters test the technology, reduce the costs, create the policy, enable the necessary ecosystems and that others can learn from it and follow,” Katharine Palmer, a senior UN climate change advocate, told UN News.

These green corridors would mean that ships carrying goods around the world would travel without using hydrocarbon fuels and instead use fuels derived from green hydrogen (hydrogen generated by renewable energy), renewable electricity and other sustainable options.

“It also includes a commitment to energy producers so that they can produce enough (green) fuel. Public-private collaboration with governments will be necessary to implement the necessary policies,” added the expert.

In other good news, nine major brands, including Amazon, IKEA, Michelin, Unilever and Patagonia, have announced that they will switch 100% of their shipping to zero-carbon fueled vessels by 2040.

The aviation challenge

Aviation industry companies and large corporate clients also announced an update to their “Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition”, whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels.

Eighty signatories have committed today to boost green fuel to 10% of global jet fuel demand by 2030.

These “green fuels” are produced from sustainable raw materials, such as cooking oil, palm oil from animals or plants, and solid waste from homes and businesses, and are very similar in chemistry to traditional fossil fuel for airplanes.

If achieved, it will reduce 60 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year and create some 300,000 green jobs.

But what about solar or electrical energy? According to Lauren Uppink, Head of Aviation at the World Economic Forum, it could be possible for short flights in the future.

“There will be a small part of the energy demand that will depend on new technologies such as hydrogen and electric battery, but for long-distance flights they are not feasible due to their physics. So sustainable aviation fuels are our only solution to decarbonize and fly carbon neutral,” he told UN News.

The expert also announced that the first electric and hydrogen planes will possibly begin to take off in 2030, and that the transition of the industry could also generate thousands of green jobs in developing countries.

There is text of the COP26 draft agreement

In addition to transportation, the big “unofficial” topic of Wednesday’s conference was the COP26 draft agreement published by the presidency, a preview of what will be the final result of the conference this Friday.

The document urges countries to reinforce their national commitments and present their strategies for their Zero Emissions plans by 2022, in order to keep the 1.5 degree target within reach.

It also includes, for the first time in a final Climate Change Conference text, a mention of “loss and damage” and a call to end fossil fuel subsidies.

“The eyes of the world are very much on us. So I ask you to rise to the challenge. We have all done a gear shift this week to pick up the pace and I still intend to finish COP26 by the end of Friday, this Friday, just to be clear!” Alok Sharma told negotiators during an informal stocktaking in plenary that drew some nervous laughter in the room (COP negotiations are notorious for going beyond the last official day).

Sharma later told reporters that the text, drafted by his office, will change and evolve as countries begin to work out the details, but that the commitment to accelerate action in this decade must be “unwavering.” “.

“I want to make it clear that we do not intend to reopen the Paris Agreement, the Paris Agreement clearly establishes the objective of a temperature well below 2 degrees and continue to strive for 1.5 degrees,” he said, adding that the presidency intends chart a path through the three main pillars of Paris: financing, adaptation and mitigation.

He called the final draft of the text a “challenging” task, but recalled that much is at stake if a truly ambitious result is not achieved.

“Everyone must come to a compromise. Everyone knows what is at stake in this negotiation. What we agree to in Glasgow will shape the future of our children and grandchildren, and we know that no one wants to fail them,” he told reporters.

Sharma quoted Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Motley’s words last week: “2 degrees for your country and many others is a death sentence.”

“We are fighting tooth and nail to get an ambitious outcome, and I have reminded negotiators that world leaders set something ambitious last week and we have to deliver on it. (If that doesn’t happen) negotiators and world leaders are going to have to look the citizens of their countries and other countries in the eye, and explain to them why we have not succeeded,” he stressed.

Civil society: creating illusions is not enough, measures are needed

Members of the NGO Climate Action Network said they welcomed the first mention of “loss and damage”, acknowledging that communities facing the challenges of rebuilding and recovery after climate disasters need the support from the world to do so, but said the words in the text were just “babble”.

“When push comes to shove, they will make no difference to communities, small farmers, women and girls in the Global South. This text will continue to do nothing for those most affected by deadly floods, cyclones, droughts and sea level rise. This is empty rhetoric once again; stating that it is an urgent matter means nothing if there is no commitment to act. And if COP26 does not accompany its recognition of the urgency with real measures to address it, to meet the needs of people on the front lines of the crisis, then everything will fall on deaf ears. A text that creates the illusion of action steps is arguably worse than no text at all,” said Teresa Anderson, Climate Policy Coordinator at Actionaid International.

He said they were “fed up” with this “drill” and world leaders “sitting by” while the devastation continues.

“It is really significant that, for the first time, fossil fuel subsidies have been referred to, albeit insufficiently, it is an important step from which to build. They need to get it right again, referencing all the fossil fuels, not just coal, and recognizing fairness, demanding more from the biggest polluters, and linking the call to action with funding for developing countries,” he added.

Lastly, he called “net zero” promises a myth used by polluters and governments to “dupe” people into a false sense of security that the climate crisis is being addressed.

“Scratching the surface of a net zero target is likely to seek in vain the radical systemic transformation of energy, food, transportation and industrial systems that is so urgently needed to ensure a habitable planet. We must choose between the targets net zero and the 1.5 goal because we can’t have both. The text talks about stepping up climate action to reach the 1.5 goal, but the math in this document doesn’t add up,” Anderson said.

The activist told reporters that with the document the leaders “continue to fail us” with empty words that are far from the scale of the “enormous challenge facing humanity.”

“Where is the support to help people who are forced to pick up the pieces of climate disasters? Where are the measures to deal with all this urgency? And where are the commitments to limit global warming or to support climate finance?” he concluded.

Source: United Nations