Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 44 2021

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

COP26 finds renewed

commitment to 1.5°C

GLOBAL THE US has joined the High Ambition Coa- sector, including through public-private collab-
lition and has signed up to the goal of limiting oration and by mobilising finance at scale, to
global warming to 1.5°C by 2100, halving global make the global transition to a clean economy
emissions by 2030 and making good on the faster, lower cost and easier for all, while mak-
promise of $100bn per year of climate finance ing solutions to adaptation more affordable and
for poor nations. inclusive,” read a statement signed by China, the
US President Joe Biden joined the body, US and a range of African, Asian and European
which combines both industrial nations in states.
Europe and Asia with some of the world’s small- The countries said this would create cer-
est and most climate-vulnerable countries such tainty and a global set of regulations in a bit to
as Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands. give investors certainty that global markets will
The firmer commitment to meeting the 1.5°C be created for low-carbon, or even zero-carbon,
dominated headlines on November, but was just technologies.
one of a number of conference breakthroughs These Glasgow Breakthroughs would act as
that fostered widespread global consensus on “global goals that aim to make clean technologies
dealing with climate change. and sustainable solutions the most affordable,
However, consensus was not universal, with accessible and attractive option in each emitting
Russia not signing up to any of the major agree- sector globally before 2030,” read the statement.
ments, and China choosing to support some With tighter and more uniform regulations,
initiatives while not getting involved in others. the aim is to raise trillions of dollars in private
finance for cutting emissions.
High ambition Crucially, this will extend beyond the energy
The High Ambition Coalition called on all coun- sector, and include areas that until have been
tries to improve their Nationally Determined labelled “difficult to decarbonise.” The five areas
Contributions (NDCs) and to provide more are: steel, road transport, agriculture, hydrogen
detail on how they will deliver net-zero green- and electricity.
house gas (GHG) emissions goals by 2050. The agreement also mandates the signing
The High Ambition Coalition is the group of governments to meet regularly in future to
countries that really delivered the Paris Agree- review progress, and to bring in such bodies as
ment back in 2015, and has set out in its latest the International Energy Agency (IEA), IRENA
Leaders’ Statement ambitious goals for a poten- and the United Nations High Level Climate
tial Glasgow Package of measures that aims to Action Champions.
keep the world on course for 1.5°C. As well as extending green electricity and
The group also called for a halt to investment electric vehicles (EVs), perhaps the key break-
in new unabated coal-fired power plants, the through is in the steel sector, with governments
phasing out of unabated coal-fired power plants agreeing to make near-zero emission steel the
in line with the requirements for a 1.5°C trajec- preferred choice in global markets, with efficient
tory and a halt in public support for all overseas use and near-zero emission steel production
unabated coal projects. established and growing in every region by 2030.
Crucially, it also called for a halt to inefficient Hydrogen is also included, and again the tar-
fossil fuel subsidies, but did not specify a date, get is to make affordable renewable and low-car-
only referring to “as soon as possible.” bon hydrogen globally available by 2030.
This means that Biden has placed the US Crucially, China did not endorse the steel and
firmly behind the climate goals of the UN, rep- transport targets, although it did put its name to
resenting a major turnaround in US policy since hydrogen, while Russia was conspicuous by its
the presidency of Donald Trump. absence, potentially lessening the impact in the
short term of the Glasgow Breakthroughs.
Glasgow Breakthroughs
Meanwhile, in what have been termed the Gaseous exchange
“Glasgow Breakthroughs,” China, the EU and The third major development on November
the US have committed themselves to scaling up 2 concerned methane, with global leaders agree-
existing clean technology by introducing world- ing to the global methane pledge and commit-
wide standards and policies. ting to a cut in emissions of 30% between 2020
“We will endeavour to work together in each and 2030.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 03•November•2022