COP28: New GST draft text gives four options for move
towards clean energy
A
new draft of the Global Stocktake released on Friday here at the COP28 has four
options for the move towards clean energy ranging from phase out of fossil
fuels to no mention of the phase out at all.
The
Global Stocktake is a fundamental component of the Paris Agreement of 2015
which is used to monitor its implementation and evaluate the collective
progress made in achieving the agreed goals of restricting emission to keep temperature
rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to the pre-industrial era.
At
the ongoing climate change negotiations, called the Conference of Parties
(COP28), the Global Stocktake (GST) text is the most crucial document set to be
finalised by the negotiators by the end of this two-week long annual meet.
Several
contentious issues, including proposals to phase out fossil fuels, triple
renewables capacity, and double energy efficiency improvement are still
unresolved as negotiations continue in the second week.
The
four options for the move towards clean energy in the 27-page latest draft are
clearly chalked out.
The
first option is phase out of fossil fuels in line with the best available
science while the second is phasing out fossil fuels in alignment with the
IPCC's 1.5 pathways, and the Paris Agreement's principles.
The
third option is a phase-out of unabated fossil fuels recognizing the need for a
peak in their consumption in this decade and underlining the importance for the
energy sector to be predominantly free of fossil fuels well ahead of 2050. The
fourth is phasing out unabated fossil fuels and to rapidly reducing their use
to achieve Net Zero CO2 in energy systems by or around mid-century, according
to the draft text.
The
Global Stocktake draft "emphasises the importance of the Global Goal on
Adaptation of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and
reducing vulnerability to climate change.
The
GST draft urged developed country Parties to at least double their collective
provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country Parties from
2019 levels by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation
and adaptation in the provision of scaled-up financial resources.
On
adaptation, the text emphasises on the importance of the global goal on
adaptation of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and
reducing vulnerability to climate change, with a view to contributing to
sustainable development and ensuring an adequate adaptation response in the
context of the temperature goal referred to in Article 2 of the Paris
Agreement.
The
draft also provides multiple options for a combination of tripling renewable
energy capacity by 2030 and doubling the global average annual rate of
energy-efficiency improvement compared to 2022.
Harjeet
Singh, head of Global Political Strategy at Climate Action Network
International, said the text between the sections on renewable energy and
fossil fuels, which mentions 'abatement and removal technologies, including
carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and low-carbon hydrogen production,'
undermines the positive elements and significantly reduces the overall
ambition.
"We
refer to most of these technologies, which are unproven and unreliable, as
dangerous distractions from the real action needed to move away from fossil fuels
quickly and fairly," he said on X.
Shirley
Matheson, NDC Enhancement Coordinator, WWF International, said this new Global
Stocktake draft text is a move in the right direction and the language on
fossil fuels is much improved, with most options including a fossil fuel phase
out.
It
is concerning to see the option to have no text relating to fossil fuels still
remains in this draft. This must be rejected, along with options that give
countries the scope to delay action or rely on technologies that have not been
proven at scale. The Global Stocktake needs to be the moment the world
acknowledges that the age of fossil fuels must end, she said. PTI UZM
NPK (This story was produced as part of the 2023 Climate Change Media
Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism
Network and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.
www.business-standard.com
dt. 09.12.2023