COP28: 118 countries agree to triple renewable energy to push out fossil fuels
COP28: 118 countries agree to triple renewable energy to push out ... The Straits Times
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World Governments Pledge to Triple Renewable Energy Capacity by 2030
DUBAI – More than 100 governments pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 at the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit on Dec 2, as a route to cut the share of fossil fuels in the world’s energy production.
Decarbonising the Energy Sector
The pledge was among a slew of COP28 announcements on the same day aimed at decarbonising the energy sector – source of around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions – that included expanding nuclear power, cutting methane emissions, and choking off private finance for coal power.
“This can and will help transition the world away from unabated coal,” said Dr Sultan al-Jaber, the United Arab Emirates’ COP28 summit president.
Global Effort for Carbon Reduction
Led by the European Union, United States, and UAE, the pledge also said tripling renewable energy would help remove carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting fossil fuels from the world’s energy system by 2050 at the latest.
The 118 backers on Dec 2 included Brazil, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile, and Barbados.
While China and India have signaled support for tripling renewable energy by 2030, neither backed the overall pledge on Dec 2 – which pairs the ramp-up in clean power with a reduction in fossil fuel use.
Global Goal and Consensus
Backers including the EU and UAE want the renewable energy pledge included in the final UN climate summit decision, to make it a global goal. That would require consensus among the nearly 200 countries present.
The pledge, a draft of which was first reported by Reuters in November, also called for “the phasedown of unabated coal power” and an end to the financing of new coal-fired power plants. It also included a target to double the global rate of energy efficiency by 2030.
Pairing Goals with Fossil Fuel Phase-Out
Climate-vulnerable countries insisted that the goals must be paired with a deal among countries at COP28 to phase out the world’s use of fossil fuels.
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