Several alliances showed yesterday that the international community is clear that eliminating fossil fuels from economics is essential to limit the increase in temperature at the end of the century between 1.5 and 2 degrees, but both scientific data and the list of Absent countries of these agreements reflected that at the moment what is there is over all good intentions and aspirations.
If what the countries attending the climate summit are complied with in Glasgow, the global warming of the planet at the end of the century could be limited to 1.8 degrees and achieve, therefore, the objective not to exceed 2 ° C. This is how the International Energy Agency has been assured this Thursday after doing calculations on what they will really apply the commitments that are being placed on the table, both to cut methane emissions and to achieve zero neutrality (most countries that are They have committed to doing so, including the EU, will do so in 2050, China says it will achieve it in 2060 and India in 2070).
The coal - how and when to stop using it - has been the protagonist of the Glasgow climate summit focused on the energy transition, which began with the cold water jug that launched scientists from the global carbon project. The exhaustive report signed by this International Consortium found the ephemeral that has been the fall of emissions recorded during the pandemic by the decline in the use of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil).
In 2021 global emissions of CO2 by burning fossil fuels not only come back to levels prior to the health crisis, but it is expected to continue increasing by 2022 as road transport and aviation recover from the Restrictions on travelers by the pandemic. They will reach the 36,400 million tons of CO2 this year, which represents an increase of 4.9% compared to those of 2020. Last year, emissions fell by 5.4%, a decrease attributed largely to the fall of Industrial activity due to pandemic, so in 2021 will only be 1% lower than those of 2019.
In this United Kingdom context announced the Coal To Clean statement that agglutinates more than 40 countries that have gradually reduced the use of coal in their energy plans, to increase the generation of clean energy and stop building new coal power plants . China, the US, India and Australia were left out of this document signed 190 national, regional governments and gradually eliminating the energy of coal in the 2030 decade in the main economies and in the 2040s for the rest of the world .
To the upward trend of CO2 emissions joins the increase in energy demand worldwide. Is it realistic and credible that it will be dispensed with coal in the coming years, which is when scientists say that measures must be undertaken? Governments and ecologists made different assessments.
"The end of coal is in sight," said President of COP26, Alok Sharma. At the press conference, the parent of agreement said that "countries are turning their back on coal and advance to cheaper and renewable energy sources." He also stressed that during COP26 they have been mobilized around 18,000 million dollars (almost 15,600 million euros to current change) in new funds to finance that energy transition.
For the Survival Organization, the agreement signed by 40 countries "for 'ending coal' sounds like a joke of bad taste for the 20,000 inhabitants Adivasis (indigenous) of the Hasdeo forest in India, who fight to stop the extraction of coal In his land. Two huge coal mines are already disfiguring their forest, and a third has just been approved, "he denounced one of the spokesmen, Jo Woodman.
Precisely China (responsible for 31% of global carbon emissions) and India (which issues 7% of the global total) are the two countries that increased emissions by fossil fuels have experienced by 2021, according to the project report Global carbon. In China's case, it will issue by 2021 5.5% of what it issued in 2019, while India will go up 4.4%.
The British Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, justified the absence of China or India, ensuring that although they do not subscribe to the agreement, "they are also participating in negotiations." In the case of China, he has specified that he has committed himself not to invest in coal mining abroad and that he is also seeking to eliminate coal in his own electricity production, among other agreements. "It's a pity that they have not signed the commitment, but that's something we're working on to achieve an agreement," he said.
On the other hand, a score of countries, among which is the USA, have agreed to stop financing fossil fuels with public money outside their territories since the end of 2022. China, Japan or South Korea did not subscribe this initiative He also sponsored by the host, United Kingdom.
As happened by COP26, the president of IBERDROLA, Ignacio Galán, has been favorable to close the coal completely and demolish those plants. It considers notwithstanding that the commitments of decarbonization that leave the climate summit, will only be possible if governments provide a stable regulatory, coherent, predictable and legal security framework, as explained during their participation in the Powering event Past Coal Alliance (PPCA).
Date Of Update: 05 November 2021, 07:26
