COP 28, the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates. The event is being attended by 198 countries who have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
As the primary objective of the COP28 is to address collective gaps in global climate action and manage the impacts of a warming planet, 118 countries have expressed their support to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
As per reports, a joint proposal was made by the U.S, Europe, and the UAE to triple renewable energy capacity to at least 11,000 gigawatts by 2030.
If fulfilled, this would be a major achievement for COP28 in the fight against global warming. The aim is to clearly state the goal in the summit’s final agreement, in which about 200 nations will participate, said the reports.
“This can and will help transition the world away from unabated coal,” summit president Sultan al-Jaber said. This proposal is in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement which called for a tripling of renewable energy with the aim to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.
This tripling goal was also agreed upon at the Group of 20 summits held in India in September. The focus will be on whether the COP summit can be used as an opportunity to promote a global consensus on the goal.
Asian and African countries will be crucial to meeting the current pledge. A framework for a fund to help developing countries recover from climate change damage, mainly donated from developed countries, was also agreed upon during the opening day of the summit.
As per data, since the beginning of the 21st century, emissions in China have increased by a factor of 3.1, in Brazil by 41%, and in Russia by 16%. Emissions in Indonesia and Malaysia have about doubled, and in Vietnam they have increased by a factor of 5.5.
Considering this, there are uncertainties regarding sufficient global warming countermeasures will actually be implemented around the world.
