Despite US Absence, Can COP30 Deliver on Climate Change?

CGTN Europe

Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, spoke to CGTN Europe about what to expect from the upcoming COP30 gathering. He said that despite the absence of the United States, maintaining global determination for climate action remains crucial. Turner emphasised the need for continued technological progress in renewable energy, stronger climate finance reforms, and broader commitment to carbon pricing. He added that achieving concrete agreements on specific actions will be key to real progress at COP30.

Transcript

00:00Adair Turner is chair of the international think tank, the Energy Transitions Commission.

00:04He says the UN conference remains vital despite the absence of the United States.

00:11It's absolutely essential that at the COP, between all the countries which are there,

00:16there's a very strong restatement of determination that whatever America unfortunately does,

00:22we still believe that climate change is a problem that the world has to deal with,

00:27that we are still committed to achieving well below 2 degrees centigrade.

00:30The thing which has changed positively over the last year, and it's a continuation of a trend,

00:36but it has continued, is remarkable technological progress.

00:40We are seeing continued cost reduction in, for instance, solar PV,

00:45in the cost of electrolyzers, in particular in China, in the cost of batteries.

00:51The falling cost of batteries is really one of the most extraordinary features of the last two to three years.

00:57You know, down 50, 60 percent.

01:00And that's crucially important because it means that in many parts of the world,

01:04it really is now possible to think about building electricity systems which depend on solar plus batteries

01:12for a very significant proportion of their electricity,

01:16and via batteries can provide it throughout the day and the weeks and the year.

01:22And so I think the other thing that we need as COP, as well as a restatement of the determination

01:27that the world will pursue that target if well below 2 degrees centigrade,

01:32is we need a sort of confidence, and we need people to be grabbing the opportunities

01:37and talking about the opportunities which these trends in technology,

01:42very favourable trends in technology, now create.

01:45At the end of the last COP, there was a loose agreement, a fudge on climate finance.

01:50It's always about the money in the end, isn't it?

01:53I think what we've got to do on the climate finance thing is get beyond trying to, you know,

01:58have one big figure with a whole load of words from it,

02:02and narrow it down and deal separately with at least two different categories of climate finance.

02:08We need to say, we've got to mobilise hundreds of billions

02:12through the development banks of the world.

02:14Now, that's not grants, that's not giveaways,

02:18but it's lending or equity investment at a reasonable cost of capital.

02:22And we've all got to agree how we give the development banks of the world

02:27the resources to do that on a much greater scale,

02:30and how we also have a set of reforms to the way that some countries work,

02:35their electricity or energy systems,

02:37which enables the development banks to lend to them in a safe fashion.

02:42We've got to do that, and that's hundreds of billions or even billions, or even trillions.

02:47And then separately, we've got to say there is an issue of how do we help

02:51the very poorest countries of the world,

02:54which are most vulnerable to climate change,

02:57and that will be smaller amounts of money,

03:00more tens of billions than hundreds or even bigger billions,

03:04and that will have to be just grant finance, direct gifts.

03:08Now, by separating it and having a separate discussion about those two things,

03:13we may make progress.

03:15At each COP, there always seems to be a standoff over banning fossil fuel.

03:19I mean, we're never going to get over that, are we?

03:21Again, I think it's rhetorically useful to understand

03:26that the only way to get emissions down

03:28is to reduce our use of fossil fuels over time.

03:32Any idea that we can offset all the fossil fuels with carbon capture

03:36and keep producing fossil fuels at the current level

03:39is a bit of a delusion.

03:41But beyond getting a broad commitment,

03:44again, I think we mustn't get too hung up on these precise words.

03:49It's far more important to focus on the new things that we're going to do,

03:54the commitment to huge newer quantities of renewables,

03:59commitments to really drive energy efficiency,

04:02where there's a huge opportunity through electrification.

04:06Commitments, I would say,

04:07to try to agree international frameworks on carbon pricing,

04:12because that's the only way we're going to get decarbonization

04:15of what we sometimes call the hard-to-abate sectors of the economy,

04:19like steel, cement, chemicals, shipping, aviation.

04:23Again, I sort of think the cops have got to move away

04:27from these endless debates in the last 24 hours

04:31about statements and where's the comma here and comma that

04:35on these general philosophical issues.

04:38Let's concentrate on the positive things we need to do

04:41that we know we need to do

04:43and try and get agreement on those concrete actions.

04:46And with that, I think we'll make more progress.

04:48Let's concentrate on the positive things we need to do

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended