After backlash about the absence of fossil fuel divestment discussions, delegates began talking about the future of phasing out coal, oil, and gas dependency on Wednesday, 11/3, at COP26. Bold statements along with silence could be heard from international delegates.
Twenty-eight countries, including Ukraine, Poland and Singapore, have joined an international pledge to phase out coal, bringing the total number of countries and organizations involved in the “Powering Past Coal Alliance” to 165. The world’s biggest coal burners, China, the U.S. and India, have not signed up to the alliance. The pledge published on Thursday includes a commitment to phase out coal in the 2030s for major economies, and in the 2040s for the rest of the world.
The world wants to phase out fossil fuels in favor of green energy, but the difficult reality is that the increase in renewable energy production is still lower than the global energy demand overall. A transition from fossil fuels may come someday, but despite all of the current COP pledges, renewable energy isn’t keeping pace with rising energy demand causing concern for the realism of the “Phase Out Decade”.
“The U.S. needs to lead by example in the clean energy transition and leaders should jump at the chance to scale up new technology to stay competitive on the global stage”, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told ABC News. As the “richest country in the world” and one of the biggest polluters, it will be incumbent upon Americans to “do our part”.
“If you’re a businessperson, you want to be able to get in the game,” Granholm said. “And in the United States, we don’t want our economic competitors getting those jobs, getting those businesses. We want to be able to create it in the United States for our people to work.”
Bill Gates also talked about the need for rapid sustainable technological growth and innovation. It is necessary to roll out new clean technology, lower the prices to provide accessibility, and update infrastructure to ensure the successful implementation of these new alternatives to fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Phasing out fossil fuels is no simple task, and the efforts of private industry, scientists, governments, and activists will be needed to keep up with energy demands and compete with growing economies.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of phasing out fossil fuels in the next 20 years? Do you think it’s possible? How do you think we can achieve net zero emissions without the phase out of fossil fuels? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!
