The US and China paved the way for the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. It remains to be seen whether their current deal in Glasgow will be equally significant. China is well aware, however, that its stance can determine the 1.5 degree target. Meanwhile, ten countries want to get out of oil and gas production.
Nobody expected that. On Wednesday evening, the US and China presented one joint statement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.
In it they promised to reduce their methane emissions, to set up a joint working group and to take stronger action against illegal deforestation. They also complained that the states’ climate plans are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
And then came the central sentence: the two countries promise to “take ambitious measures in this critical decade, if necessary by updating the Climate plans for 2030 ″.
This sentence is so important because China has so far shown no willingness to do its recently presented climate plan to touch up. But that is exactly what is crucial. China is by far the largest emitter in the world and has not been reworked Chinese climate target for the year 2030 it is almost impossible for the 1.5 degree target to remain “within reach”. advertisement
Outlook von Li Shuo From Greenpeace China, the two countries also signal with the declaration that they want to decouple climate protection from the rest of their difficult relationships: “Separating climate change from the toxic bilateral issues is good for the world.” That is why regular meetings are held in the joint Working group of importance.
EU wants more climate protection, but is not doing anything about it
The declaration by the USA and China, however, brings another question to the fore: Where is the EU? The European confederation had played a central role in the conclusion of the Paris climate treaty by a “High Ambition Coalition”, an alliance of the “ambitious”, with the poorest countries and the small island states.
And during the presidency of Donald Trump the impression arose the EU belongs to the central actors in climate protection. But as soon as Trump is gone, China is again negotiating bilaterally with the USA.
Connie Hedegaard, President of the 2009 Climate Summit in Copenhagen and then EU Climate Commissioner, had in the run-up to Glasgow already reminded: “Few, if any, EU governments are doing serious diplomacy to restore the High Ambition Coalition, and the EU is not putting any real pressure on the US to deliver its share of the $ 100 billion.”
The industrialized countries had in the year 2009 pledged to mobilize a total of 100 billion US dollars a year from 2020 to finance climate protection and adaptation in poorer countries. This goal was missed and should only now in 2023 can be achieved.
Alliance for coal-oil-gas phase-out – without Germany
Less surprisingly, an additional sector initiative was presented in Glasgow today that aims to end not only coal mining but also oil and gas. Eight other countries and states, led by Denmark and Costa Rica, have committed to the move. Also included are France, Ireland, Sweden, Wales, Greenland and Québec.
So these countries set a realization of the International Energy Agency IEA: If the warming is to be limited to 1.5 degrees, investments in the development of new oil and gas fields no longer make sense.
Those
The report was made by the Editor “klimareporter.de” (Christian Mihatsch) 2021 written – the article may not be distributed without permission ([email protected])!
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