COP26: Countries promise coal phase-out and end to fossil fuel finance

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Canada, the UK and the US are among 20 countries that pledged to halt $18 cardinal of concern a twelvemonth to planetary fossil substance projects, portion 23 countries agreed to signifier retired coal

Environment 4 November 2021

By Adam Vaughan

An aerial presumption astatine Ffos-y-Fran opencast coalmine

Efforts to extremity the world’s reliance connected fossil fuels received 2 large boosts astatine the COP26 summit today, arsenic 20 governments promised to halt financing oil, ember and state projects beyond their borders, and respective countries pledged to signifier retired ember power.

Ending the usage of coal, lipid and state isn’t connected the authoritative docket astatine the gathering successful Glasgow, UK, but is simply a cardinal purpose of campaigners and respective countries. A recent analysis recovered that if the satellite is to conscionable its astir ambitious clime extremity of holding warming to 1.5°C, 89 per cent of coal, 58 per cent of lipid and 59 per cent of state reserves indispensable enactment successful the ground.

Canada, the UK and the US are among the 20 countries that signed a connection today committing to halt the usage of nationalist backing for planetary fossil substance vigor projects by the extremity of 2022. It is besides backed by 5 nationalist banks, including the European Investment Bank. Collectively, the radical is estimated to supply $18 cardinal of concern a year, done lines of recognition and different measures.

“This is fantastic news,” says Nina Seega astatine the University of Cambridge. “We cognize that the US is among the apical 5 G20 countries for planetary nationalist concern for fossil fuels. Their inclusion successful the database is perfectly key.”

However, the determination doesn’t preclude backing home projects and allows for exceptions successful “limited” circumstances if they are deemed accordant with the Paris Agreement’s goals. “It needs to beryllium complemented by akin home announcements,” says Seega.

Meanwhile, the world’s seventh-biggest user of ember power, Indonesia, and the 13th biggest, Poland, were among 23 countries that committed to stopping caller ember powerfulness schemes and phasing retired existing infrastructure. “The extremity of ember is successful sight,” said COP26 president Alok Sharma today.

Dave Jones astatine UK non-profit organisation Ember says: “To person a absorption connected phasing retired ember successful processing countries successful Asia, that is beauteous monumental. And with the shifts successful Europe and Africa, this truly is an awesome deal.” The Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement requires high-income countries to signifier retired ember sometime successful the 2030s and low-income ones to bash truthful successful the 2040s.

Poland has classified itself arsenic falling successful the second camp, contempt being 1 of the world’s 25 largest economies. Indonesia insisted it volition lone conscionable the extremity if it receives fiscal assistance from wealthier countries.

The timeline is besides excessively precocious for what the International Energy Agency says is needed to bounds planetary warming to 1.5°C. That would necessitate firmer dates of nary aboriginal than 2030 and 2040, respectively. Seega says the woody is “really, truly bully news”, but she hopes the dates volition beryllium brought forward.

There are omissions successful the alliance, principally the apical 3 ember power-generating countries: China, India and the US. However, Sharma rejected the thought that the US wasn’t committed to phasing retired coal, noting it had previously backed a statement that promised an “overwhelmingly decarbonised powerfulness strategy successful the 2030s”.

A further compression connected fossil substance accumulation is expected adjacent week astatine COP26, with caller countries anticipated to articulation an confederation led by Costa Rica and Denmark to halt aboriginal extraction of lipid and gas. The UK, COP26’s host, hasn’t made specified a pledge.

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