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Countries are wasting money on energy sources they already know are history
(EurActiv, 7 Oct 2021) With many countries facing an emerging fuel price crisis, the world has received a stark reminder of how important energy is to our everyday lives, and also how important government decisions are in keeping us well served, writes Maria Mendiluce.
Maria Mendiluce is the CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, a group of seven non-profit organisations.
With around 70% of the global economy now committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, the urgency of exiting coal and completely phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is crystal clear.
And yet, many countries are still subsidising — or even investing further into — fossil fuel sources like coal despite broad agreement on their looming obsolescence.
We know that to limit global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5ºC, we need to halve emissions by 2030. The UN secretary-general called the latest IPCC report a “code red for humanity,” and every government that committed to the Paris Agreement understands this well.
Despite this, G20 Environment Ministers recently failed to agree to phasing out coal in a preparatory meeting ahead of their annual summit. Even worse, global coal demand in 2021 is set to rise by 4.5% and approach its 2014 peak, with more than 80% of the growth concentrated in Asia (and China alone projected to account for over 50% of the global growth).
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EurActiv, 7 Oct 2021: Countries are wasting money on energy sources they already know are history
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