The EU asks to accelerate the race for climate neutrality, more financing and clear rules in CO ₂ markets

The European Union (EU) has urged the rest of the countries and regions to “accelerate” the race to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible, to increase financing for climate action, to make a greater effort in innovation and to establish clear rules to set a price in CO markets₂ .

During her speech at the initial meeting of leaders at the XXVI Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is being held until November 12 in Glasgow (United Kingdom), the President of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, has pointed out that these requests are in line with the proposals of the European Commission and has underlined the importance of achieving strong climate governance and monitoring carbon markets.

The carbon markets framework agreement is included in article 6 of the Paris Agreement but the negotiators are still dealing with the details, which were left unfinished at the COP25 held in Madrid in 2019 and many of the countries trust that agreement can be reached in Glasgow.

“Put a price on carbon. Nature can never pay the price again,” von der Leyen snapped at this event, which is the starting signal for two weeks of climate negotiations.
In terms of ambition, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has announced his country’s goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2070, but at the same time has called for more funding from developed countries to meet this challenge, according to Bloomberg.

“India’s expectation is that the world’s most developed nations reach 100 billion climate finance as soon as possible,” Modi insisted, noting that it is fair to ask that those countries that do not keep their climate commitments be pressured ” .

India is currently the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and has now put on the table its will to be a zero-emissions country within half a century. Along these lines, Modi has anticipated that by the end of this decade the country will increase its non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 gigawatts, which means raising the country’s initial goal, which was 450 gigawatts.

It has also announced that it will strive to produce half of its electricity with renewable energy and will reduce 1,000 million tons of carbon emissions by 2030.

THE FORGOTTEN VALUES OF THE PARIS COP

During the event, the President of France, Emanuel Macron, has admonished other nations for “forgetting” the values of ambition, solidarity and trust that led to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and has demanded greater ambition for part of the rich countries and the biggest polluters.

Thus, he has urged those countries that are responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions to increase their efforts in these next two weeks. “It is the only way for us to recover credibility in our strategy”, defended the French president, to make it possible to meet the global warming objectives.

On the other hand, he has insisted that the richest countries have lagged behind in their contributions to reach the 100,000 million dollars a year in climate finance from developing countries, for which he insists that they must “immediately” give an step forward.

In his opinion, and without citing any specific country, these nations must set an example and accelerate this financing. “I would like to appeal to those countries that are not contributing to assume their responsibility between now and the end of COP26 to complete this obligation that we assumed in Paris”, he wished.

For its part, the outgoing German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has insisted that setting a price on CO ₂ is an “effective tool” to combat climate change.

In his speech at the Glasgow meeting, he argued that the European Union already has this kind of price model for the industrial sector. “Others, for example, China, are introducing it now,” added Merkel, who believes that this mechanism works to tax carbon dioxide emissions, which is an invitation to encourage investment in clean energy.

Merkel stressed how important it is not only to use taxpayers’ money in the fight against global warming, but also instruments that make “economic sense.”

“For me that is the price of CO ₂ “, stressed the German chancellor, explaining that, in general, a large amount of investment is needed to meet global climate goals.

Finally, he recalled an estimate by the former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, according to which global climate protection would require annual funding of 800,000 million dollars.

Throughout this Monday and Tuesday in Glasgow, the 192 countries attending COP26 will make their statements in which they will either state their position or make specific announcements about their commitment to action against climate change.

To date, the emission reduction commitments presented by the different countries will raise the planet’s global temperature by 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The figure is very far from the commitment adopted in Paris in 2015 to limit this increase to 2 degrees Celsius with the idea of preventing it from rising above 1.5ºC.

That commitment, that of 1.5ºC, has been backed this weekend by the leaders who have met in Rome at the G-20 summit, which integrates the economies that, together, account for 80 percent of emissions of _CO2 .

Source: Europe Press