Page 6 - AfrElec Week 42 2021

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

selection of countries in reducing the green-
house gas (GHG) emissions that cause climate for 24% of global emissions, have not yet adopted
change and assesses their preparedness and abil- any form of national Net Zero target.
ity to achieve net zero by 2050. Governments needed to harness the power
Simon Virley, vice-chair and head of energy of the financial markets to deliver Net Zero.
and natural resources at KPMG in the UK, said: Investors and banks are increasingly factoring
“The UK has made great strides on decarboni- climate risk and Net Zero transition into their
sation, particularly in the power sector, over the investment and lending decisions, with escalat-
past decade and we are now halfway to net zero. ing growth in climate-related financial products.
We also have a strong political consensus and a Governments can support this with measures
world-leading framework for tracking progress such as carbon pricing.
put in place by the Climate Change Act.” In terms of countries, Japan was the highest
The UK’s power sector is largely decarbon- Asian country in 7th place, while South Korea
ised, with coal generation planned to end in 2024 was 15th and Singapore 15th. China was still fur-
and the proportion of renewable energy used in ther down the list at 20th.
electricity production topping 40% in 2020, sup- On the other hand, a number of African and
porting the country’s second place on electricity Asian countries were named as “countries to
and heat. watch”, where there are significant opportunities
However, on a global scale the NZRI warned to advance decarbonisation efforts.
that countries are lagging in adopting Net Zero These include India, Indonesia, Thailand,
targets and signing them into law. Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The 32 countries in the NZRI are responsi- As ever, the IEA has welcomed progress, but
ble for around three-quarters of global emis- has warned that it is too slow. It is now taking the
sions. Only nine of them, together accounting world’s richest nations as an example of how to
for around 10% of emissions, have made legally finance green technologies.
binding Net Zero commitments. Another 10 However, the barriers to investment will be
countries accounting for 43% of emissions have higher in the developing world, and the strong
set targets but have not implemented legal mech- investment networks and established regulatory
anisms. The remaining 13 countries, accounting systems will not necessarily be available .™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 21•October•2021