COP26: UN conference in Glasgow was not a ‘failure’

The UN climate conference in Glasgow COP26 was not a “failure”, said today the executive director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol, emphasizing that the commitments made by the countries in it must now be fully implemented.

“I do not agree with the view that Glasgow was a failure,” he said, noting the “many and significant positive results” of the anti-climate change conference.

The 200 COP26 nations adopted an agreement in Glasgow on Saturday to speed up the fight against global warming, without restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or responding to calls for help from poor countries. .

“Today, countries that account for more than 90% of the world economy are covered by carbon neutrality commitments, which is huge,” Birol told the Franco-German Energy Forum.

The World Energy Organization has already estimated that the announcements made in Glasgow – provided they are fully implemented – could limit the rise in temperature to 1.8 degrees Celsius.

“This is a major political success for Glasgow,” but “the key phrase here, the magic phrase, is ‘full implementation’, especially in the next ten years,” Birol said.

The head of the International Energy Agency called for “massive expansion of renewable energy sources, especially in the field of electricity”, as well as efforts for energy efficiency.

Glasgow, the cradle of the coal-fired industrial revolution, is the city where the words “fossil fuels” and “coal” were imprinted on paper at the highest level.

Birol, who made the remarks in front of French and German officials, took the opportunity to appeal to “the German leadership for a timely exit from coal so that Germany can set an example for other countries”.

As for France, he pointed out that there is still “great scope” for further development of renewable energy sources.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ