Firstpost | Climate change: Global collaboration holds key to sustainability

Nov 05,2022

The transition from October to early November is a very curious time at the national capital as after months of sweltering heat as the city welcomes the winters. However, the muted elation quickly turns into one of discomfort with a sharp decrease in the air quality. This annual phenomenon has been met with speculation and the causes have been debated with renewed vigour every year. While some blame crop burning, some blame vehicular pollution and some even blaming Diwali, the real reason for this swift degradation is climate change.

Climate change can only be tackled through collective action by all countries. The pandemic brought into sharp focus the interdependencies of a globalised world. Climate action cannot be localised as the effects are not restricted to geographical boundaries. This necessitates a nuanced approach where domestic development priorities must be reconciled with global climate goals. In the past decade, several developing countries, especially in Asia have witnessed strong economic growth.

Unlike their western counterparts, who were able to fuel growth by harnessing fossil fuels, countries will have to rely on green energy to achieve growth in this millennium. Recently, Indian Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri stated in an interview with CNN that India will lead the world in green energy transformation. Stating that necessity is the mother of invention, Puri outlined India’s focus on producing green hydrogen and the government’s push towards making solar energy cheaper and more accessible.

The COP27 will play a key role in setting global climate goals. However, rising geopolitical tensions, inflationary domestic instabilities and focus on G20 might have an adverse effect on the summit.

This has been confirmed by the provisional list of speakers issued on 31 October which shows that neither Xi Jinping of China nor Prime Minister Modi will be attending the event. Even US president Joe Biden will not attend the leader segment because of the US mid-term elections on 8 November. Russia has confirmed that Vladimir Putin won’t be attending COP27 either. Russia’s climate envoy Ruslan Edelgeriyev reportedly stated that this was because no breakthrough decisions were expected from the climate talks this year and not because of the geopolitical tensions.

The global headwinds may compromise the event itself but countries around the world have renewed their commitment towards achieving climate goals.

According to the UN Climate Agency, 24 countries have submitted new or updated emissions-cutting plans since last year’s U.N. climate conference. A few more countries including Chile, Mexico, and Turkey, are expected to release new plans during the Egypt conference. Despite their best efforts, a United Nations report stated that most countries are lagging on their existing commitments to reduce carbon emission. Worryingly, the report states that global greenhouse gas emissions will rise to 10.6% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels.

The world needs greater cooperation to achieve its climate goals. The Ukraine invasion is undoubtedly the biggest geopolitical crisis of the century, but it is imperative that the world focuses on more than one crisis at a time. Interestingly, the oil producing GCC countries are taking a leadership role in the transition from a carbon-based economy to a green economy.

This year’s COP27 in Egypt will be followed by Abu Dhabi hosting the COP28 summit in 2023. The region is also witnessing greater collaboration to identify, develop and adopt green energy solutions. The Middle East Green Initiative, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, has announced a goal to reduce carbon emissions from the region’s oil and gas industry by 60%.

It is still unclear as to how the region will be achieving these targets, but it is pertinent to note that overall investment in renewables in the Middle East has risen sevenfold in a decade, from $960 million in 2011 to $6.9 billion in 2021.

For Instance, Saudi Arabia invested around $1.5 billion in solar energy alone last year, and the UAE has put almost $9 billion into the technology since 2017. Most recently, Saudi Aramco has announced that it would set up a $1.5 billion sustainability fund that will invest in technologies with potential to support both a “stable and inclusive” energy transition and Aramco’s goal of net-zero emissions from its wholly owned assets by 2050.

Amidst rising tensions between the world’s major economic powers, there is an opportunity for new leaders to emerge. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has promised that that the kingdom would help make COP27 a success.

Similar commitments have been made by Egypt and UAE as well. While the world deals with the Ukraine crises leading to inflation and food shortages, it is heartening to see some countries step up to make collective climate action a success. The COP27, therefore will be an interesting summit to see if the world can push for greater cooperation and find new leaders in the battle against climate change.