COP26 Feature
ENERGY DAY AT COP26. Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi
Six years ago, in 2015 COP21 took place in Paris. For the first time ever, every participating country agreed to work together to limit global warming to not more than 1.5 degrees, to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate, and to make money available to deliver on these aims. The Paris Agreement was born. Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to bring forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions – known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘NDCs’. They agreed that every five years they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time.
The headlines of the day were all about the commitment to phase out coal as the largest single contributor to climate change.
So, the run up to this year’s summit in Glasgow was the moment (delayed by a year due to the pandemic) when countries updated their plans for reducing emissions. But, the commitments laid out in Paris have not come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and the decade running up to 2030 is seen as crucial.
This follows recent announcements from China, Japan and South Korea to end overseas coal financing which now means all significant public international financing for coal power has effectively ended.
November 4th, 2021, was Energy Day at the UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021.
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Banks and financial institutions also made landmark commitments to end the funding of unabated coal, including major international lenders like HSBC, Fidelity International and Ethos.
In addition, a group of 25 countries including COP26 partners Italy, Canada, the United States and Denmark together with public finance institutions have signed a UK-led joint statement committing to ending international public support for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022 and instead prioritising support for the clean energy transition.
Collectively, this could shift an estimated $17.8 billion a year in public support out of fossil fuels and into the clean energy transition. Developing countries including Ethiopia, Fiji and the Marshall Islands offered their support, signalling growing unity. This is an inclusive agenda that aims to recognise the development and energy needs of all economies. Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, High Level Climate Action Champions said: “With 80% growth in their capacity commitment—from 25 to 45 Gigawatts of electrolysis—in one year, the Green Hydrogen Catapult and its members demonstrate the near-term potential for exponential growth in green hydrogen, enabled by local and global policy support and rapidly growing customer interest.” “It is fantastic to see the ambition in renewables deployment, with Race to Zero members committing to reaching over 750GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. This will only grow as more energy companies join the Race to Zero emissions, and decarbonisation ambitions continue to increase, reflecting the exponential progress we have seen to date in the sector.”
