Page 5 - AfrElec Week 28

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec
“jump-starting coal-fired power plants that don’t make nancial or environmental sense.”
He also questioned the economic sense of propping up oil and gas companies, as they were already struggling nancially.
Bene ts
Guterres described the three main benefits of renewable energy: health; science and eco- nomics.He said that pollution now caused 9mn deaths per year, more than smoking.
Secondly, renewables are crucial for combat- ing climate change, and he stressed that reducing emissions to 45% between 2010 and 2030, and by reaching net zero by 2050, would contribute to meeting the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Thirdly, he highlighted that per kWh, solar energy is now cheaper than coal in most countries.
“If we had any doubt about the direction the wind is blowing, the real economy is showing us,” he said.
He noted that investors from Blackrock and Credit Agricole were now insisting on compa- nies changing their business models by equating climate risk with investment risk.
Clarion calls
Guterres called on governments to bring any bail-out and support policies into line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and to consider cli- mate risk when making decisions.
“We need to stop wasting money on fossil fuel subsidies and place a price on carbon,” he said, adding that “every nancial decision must take account of environmental and social impacts.”
In terms of coal, he urged government to commit to no new coal from now on, and to end all external nancing of coal in the developing world.
Guterres’ comments come as there are
movements away from fossil fuel investment in both the developing and developed world, as he highlighted in places such as Nigeria and South Korea.
Yet there are anomalies. He praised Canada for having placed climate disclosure conditions on its bail-out support. Yet the country has still made $10.3bn of unconditional funding available to its fossil fuel industries, according to Energy Policy Tracker, such as oil Sands in Alberta or support for new roadbuilding.
On the other hand, fossil fuel investment in Africa has slowed, led by the African Develop- ment Bank (AfDB), which will no longer invest in coal in the continent.
Yet in Asia, countries such as Japan are still supporting investment in coal in Myanmar or Indonesia by state-owned banks, although gov- ernments across Asia are re-examining the issue.
e UN chief ’s comments follow on from IEA executive director Fatih Birol, who has repeatedly called on governments to place renewables at the heart of their post-COVID-19 recovery packages.
Indeed, the IEA’s Sustainable Recovery Plan o ers policy measures and targeted investments to boost global economic growth by 1.1% per year, save or create 9mn jobs per year, and put emissions into structural decline.
Meanwhile, the IEA’s recent Special Report on Clean Energy Innovation has warned that governments and corporations need to focus on clean energy innovation as a matter of urgency if they are to meet their net-zero climate change targets by 2050.
Nevertheless, with many G20 countries led by the US still propping up their fossil fuel indus- tries, the urgency that both Birol and Guterres say is needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals might not be forthcoming.
At risk is the world’s ability to meet green energy targets and to combat climate change.™
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Week 28 16•July•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
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