A real breakthrough for the climate? World class news from Glasgow

Last night the BBC asked me to join their program and comment on “this new initiative to boost green technologies” that was announced at the climate summit in Glasgow earlier in the day. I felt honored but also nervous. Not because I don't enjoy being on telly. I had been on the program before. Rather, it was because this year, I had decided not to travel to the COP as I had done in most years before. Too low were my expectations for what would come out of it. These last weeks had created a constant and continuous blow to the hope I, and most of my colleagues, had before. The increasingly low expectations were sealed by the recent G20 summit at which world leaders spent a full day discussing what to do about climate change with few results.

As expected, the first news I heard from Glasgow were hardly encouraging. Sure, re-emphasized general commitments to mitigate and adapt to climate change; some progress on the Paris Agreement “rulebook;” reassurance that climate finance would finally be made available… And yes, Paris 2015 was the big breakthrough, the following annual conferences including this one have to put this epochal agreement to keep the global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius into practice. The twenty-twenties will not be about new climate goals and commitments. They are about how to put quick and effective actions in place which ensure that we are achieving our universally agreed climate objectives. But we have done so little for so long that putting our climate commitments into practice means nothing less now than truly radical changes in all key emitting sectors. We need the swift introduction of deep long-term transformations toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. COP 26 in Glasgow was, according to the rumblings, not likely to deliver anything even remotely close to matching the challenge.

Yesterday was a quite busy for me, and my sick daughter was home alone with me. It was only the call from the BBC that alerted me to the latest news from Glasgow. So I studied the different announcements from governments, international organizations, and the private sector. One initiative clearly stuck out already for its name: the “Breakthrough Agenda ”! Reading through the text it became obvious to me that this proposal is substantial and of real significance, big enough to ignite much-needed new hope.

What is the Breakthrough Agenda? It is a set of commitments that seek to boost clean technologies in key sectors and make them the most affordable, accessible, attractive alternative by the year 2030. Here is why it is a potential game changer:

First, it connects our climate change commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by focusing on the transitions in key sectors that will be necessary to achieve both agendas. It is precisely this closed linkage of climate change and other key public goals that is needed: jobs and economic opportunity; clean air, water, and soil; health; social inclusion; no poverty; education; and so forth.

Second, the Breakthrough Agenda puts environmental, social, and economic benefits at its center. It continues the approach of the Paris Agreement of advancing opportunities rather than constraining conventional development.

Third, the agreement focuses on public measures that will direct private investments in the right places. It seeks to improve the investment environment for clean technologies through policies and measures at any level of political organization and new international standards and cooperation toward these goals.

Fourth, the breakthrough agenda formally and explicitly connects to the plethora of existing initiatives, all of which are useful on paper and some of which have resulted in real incremental steps to lower carbon development. Clean Energy Ministerial , C40 cities initiative , SEforALL , Green Grids Initiative , First Movers Coalition , and dozens of other public or public private partnerships can all make important contributions. But thus far, they could hardly claim to create the deep transformations of economic sectors that will be needed to tackle climate change. The breakthrough agenda has this ambition, it builds on existing initiatives and can create an overarching umbrella for them.

Fifth, the Breakthrough Agenda is designed to accept new parties and be extended to new sectors over time. 40 parties are founding signatories of the agreement presented by the United Kingdom on Tuesday. They already include the heaviest emitters on Earth: China, the United States, the European Union, India. Signatories also include states whose development paths will be crucial for the future of the climate (and arguably, other issue areas of international interest) such as Nigeria as well as Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Five sectors are covered by the Breakthrough Agenda thus far, setting clear objectives for the year 2030 – which obviously and importantly, is also the target year of the SDGs:

-?????????Energy: Clean power is the most affordable and reliable option for all countries;

-?????????Road transport: Zero emissions vehicles are the new normal – accessible, affordable and sustainable in all world regions;

-?????????Steel: Near-zero emission steel is the preferred choice in all markets;

-?????????Hydrogen: Affordable, renewable, and low-carbon hydrogen is commonly available;

-?????????Agriculture: Climate-compatible, sustainable agriculture is the most attractive option.

The Breakthrough Agenda is an enormous opportunity. If successful, it will create the radically new markets we need. BUT: It only sets a framework for the real action that needs to happen now. It must not be allowed to become a paper tiger. The investment barriers for clean technologies need to be identified quickly and thoroughly and be matched with effective finance and policy instruments. In parallel, new investments in dirty technologies must be stopped: No new coal mines, no more subsidies for fossil fuels and combustion-engine vehicles, no more support of conventional, unsustainable agriculture, etc. New sectors such as aviation and shipping need to be included. Finally, the Breakthrough Agenda’s focus on markets and technologies needs to be flanked by new opportunities for, and concrete support of, healthier, more sustainable lifestyles of communities and individuals.

Whatever happened to the BBC interview? It did not take place after all. I saw the message too late, they must have found someone else in the meantime. This time it was not me trying to raise new hope and support for the negotiations. This time I found it myself. ?All eyes on Glasgow and a real breakthrough now!