COP27: The Great Fossil Fuel Debate

COP27: The Great Fossil Fuel Debate?

?Last week, the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el-Sheikh hosted the 27th United Nations Climate Summit, COP27. This Conference of Parties is a gathering of world leaders,?

government officials, lobbyists, environmentalists, think tanks, charities, and businesses from nearly 200 nations, who come together to discuss climate change and the steps needed to mitigate its effects.

In 2015, 194 countries signed the pledge to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C. The onus of this pledge was on reducing the use of fossil fuels, especially coal, as they are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

?In principle, phasing out fossil fuels seems like an obvious step in the right direction. But the implementation remains tricky. Perhaps this is the reason why fossil fuels have become such a hotly debated subject at these talks.

?The Energy disparity: Africa Resistant to Give up Fossil Fuels

Despite fossil fuel phase-out being one of the top agendas of COP27, African nations have asked that they must be allowed to harness fossil fuels to lift their people out of energy poverty and boost their economies.

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reveals that Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world.

"Africa is the epicentre of energy poverty. About 600 million Africans lack access to any form of energy—for electrification but also for clean cooking”, said Zainab Usman, senior fellow, and director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

According to the World Bank, the average per capita electricity consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa is 487-Kilowatt, while that of OECD(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries is 7,750-kWh.

Not only Africa, but many developing countries in Asia and Latin are unable to provide equal energy access to their people.

Thus, the African stance, while controversial at a summit that is actively advocating an energy transition, makes sense for nations that do not even have access to basic energy.

India Seeks to Phase Out of All Fossil Fuels

India too voiced its concern about fossil fuels. But unlike Africa, the issue was not about the continued use of fossil fuels but the language used to describe them in the cover decision.

In COP26 held at Glasgow, world leaders called for a coal phase-out as it is considered the dirtiest fossil fuel and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Since India is heavily dependent on the source to meet its basic energy needs, the nation, along with China and the US called for a modification in terminology- from the?phase-out to phase-down. The change was implemented.

This time, Indian negotiators at the COP27 summit cited the Sixth Assessment Report of IPCC to seek an expansion of the language regarding fossil fuels. India says that rather than singling out one resource, countries must acknowledge that ‘all fossil fuels contribute to greenhouse gas emissions”.

However, the stance was not accepted due to the pushback from oil-dependent nations.?

India’s concern and the final decision highlight the duplicity of rich countries. While developing nations are being asked to scale down their coal-based operations, rich nations continue to build their economies around oil and natural gas. In fact, in a strongly criticized move, in July 2022, the European Union also voted to categorize some natural gas usage as ‘green and sustainable.?

Finance: The Biggest Roadblock in Addressing Climate Change

Digging a little deeper into the opinions presented, we understand that the central issue is?not?about the merit and willingness of phasing out fossil fuel usage but the ability to finance this change.

?Consider Africa.

?Africa is already facing more severe climate change than most other parts of the world, despite bearing the least responsibility for the problem even though the continent’s share in global CO2 emissions remains less than 3%.

Many African nations have vast potential for wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal energy, which they are unable to harness due to the lack of resources.

"If you are going to tell us to leave our resources in the ground, then you must be prepared to offer sufficient compensation, but I don't think anyone has yet come out to make such an offer," says Maggy Shino.

In 2009, developed countries signed a pledge to give a sum of $100 billion annually to developing countries to help them tackle climate change. However, the cap was never met.

?At this summit, developing countries pushed for a new financial target, as the cost of adapting to climate change has increased. But countries could not reach an agreement on this front either.?

However, there was one positive. In a historic decision, countries voted in favour of a loss and damage fund to compensate the developing nations which remain the worst affected by climate change.?

?The fight isn’t over yet.?

?Unless the world shifts to renewable energy, global temperatures will continue to rise. Fortunately, it seems like we are moving in that direction. The rise of wind, solar and other renewable resources is 'unstoppable' now as per the International Renewable Energy Agency.?

?Rich nations would have to play a major role in financing the energy infrastructure to smooth this transition. With the introduction of loss and damage fund, countries are much more optimistic about the future of climate finance.