The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres published a five point plan Wednesday that aims to increase investments in renewable energies. His message coincided perfectly with the Publication of the World Meteorological Organization’s Climate Report for 2021.
In his prerecorded message, UN chief said that “We must end the fossil fuel pollution” and “accelerate the renewable energy transition before incineration of our only home.” “Time is running short.”
WMO report reveals ‘failure to stop climate disruption
Wednesday’s report showed that Critical climate indicatorsAll broke records in the last year. These include increasing sea levels and greenhouse gas concentrations. These were also the hottest years on record in the last seven years.
Guterres stated, “Today’s State of the Climate is a dismal list of humanity’s failures to tackle climate disruption.”
Petteri Taalas (the secretary-general of WMO) told DW that mitigating the effects of climate change is “much more affordable” than dealing with them.
“It’s even up to 20 times more expensive if we let climate change happen and we are not able to mitigate it,” Taalas said.
He said, “It’s also economically feasible to pay attention to climate mitigation. And start using these climate friendly means to produce electricity in the transport sector as well as other sectors that we are working with.”
What is Guterres’ five point plan?
The UN plan focuses on increasing the spread of renewable technologies, along with greater investments, as well as ending subsidies for fossil fuels.
Guterres called for public and private investments in renewables to be tripled to at least $4 trillion a year.
The plan would also require governments to lift intellectual property protections on renewable technologies to increase access to them, as well as to open up supply chains of materials necessary for such technology which are currently controlled by just a few key players.
Guterres also pleaded for governments to End subsidies for fossil-fuelsThis amount to half a billion dollars per year and promotes renewable energies. He claimed that fossil fuel companies were getting richer, while consumers were paying for the cost.
“People suffer from high prices“The pump, the oil-and-gas industry is raking millions from a distorted marketplace,” he stated.
Taalas stated energy systems should be made more dependent upon nuclear and renewable energy.
“We must convert our transport system so that it is more based on electric cars, public transportation, and maybe hydrogen in future,” he said.
Trajectories that are not on target
Even though renewable energy sources are expected to supply most of the rising electricity demand in the next years, the rate is still high. Fast enough, but not fast enoughto limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius below pre-industrial levels, as per the Paris Agreement.
Global electricity generation is currently only 30% renewables, while fossil fuel energies continue to dominate.
Guterres cited red tape as a major obstacle to the growth and development of renewable energies. He also referred to subsidies that promote fossil fuels.
He said that approval of a wind project in Europe takes eight years. “In the United States it can take as long as a decade to get a wind project approved. There are 28 federal agencies involved.
He said that coal, oil, and gas receive approximately $11 million in subsidies every minute of every day.
wmr,ab/kb (AFP, AP)
