Zürcher Nachrichten - 'Waiting in vain': year on from pledge, world clings to fossil fuels

EUR -
AED 3.99407
AFN 72.832181
ALL 98.248532
AMD 420.38944
ANG 1.957683
AOA 991.731959
ARS 1076.823056
AUD 1.656914
AWG 1.957366
AZN 1.847265
BAM 1.954785
BBD 2.193251
BDT 129.803792
BGN 1.955571
BHD 0.409894
BIF 3155.832282
BMD 1.087425
BND 1.435841
BOB 7.506068
BRL 6.297281
BSD 1.086231
BTN 91.253455
BWP 14.522459
BYN 3.554838
BYR 21313.536737
BZD 2.189553
CAD 1.515441
CDF 3139.938841
CHF 0.939645
CLF 0.03789
CLP 1045.493928
CNY 7.746383
CNH 7.741702
COP 4808.377385
CRC 556.610974
CUC 1.087425
CUP 28.816772
CVE 110.208786
CZK 25.320728
DJF 193.428671
DKK 7.459787
DOP 65.416032
DZD 144.728985
EGP 53.221966
ERN 16.31138
ETB 133.422079
FJD 2.447576
FKP 0.832064
GBP 0.843161
GEL 2.984956
GGP 0.832064
GHS 17.630008
GIP 0.832064
GMD 77.20735
GNF 9368.135504
GTQ 8.392796
GYD 227.154137
HKD 8.455765
HNL 27.381404
HRK 7.491306
HTG 142.934465
HUF 408.398354
IDR 17104.113231
ILS 4.079804
IMP 0.832064
INR 91.441651
IQD 1422.967653
IRR 45772.448404
ISK 148.912259
JEP 0.832064
JMD 171.848396
JOD 0.771204
JPY 165.887281
KES 140.125207
KGS 93.304458
KHR 4413.667571
KMF 493.247938
KPW 978.682564
KRW 1500.027451
KWD 0.333437
KYD 0.905238
KZT 530.359483
LAK 23829.845259
LBP 97273.142701
LKR 318.217689
LRD 208.561702
LSL 19.176954
LTL 3.210885
LVL 0.657773
LYD 5.235257
MAD 10.688148
MDL 19.443814
MGA 5005.400896
MKD 61.583022
MMK 3531.915098
MNT 3695.071348
MOP 8.696464
MRU 42.950697
MUR 49.869383
MVR 16.691679
MWK 1883.521963
MXN 21.801682
MYR 4.766207
MZN 69.485866
NAD 19.177218
NGN 1785.943806
NIO 39.969246
NOK 11.974037
NPR 146.002173
NZD 1.821008
OMR 0.418646
PAB 1.086331
PEN 4.090514
PGK 4.35174
PHP 63.540502
PKR 301.841266
PLN 4.354202
PYG 8587.50137
QAR 3.960516
RON 4.975401
RSD 117.049389
RUB 105.888023
RWF 1479.031998
SAR 4.084063
SBD 9.04339
SCR 14.824754
SDG 654.088499
SEK 11.592427
SGD 1.439436
SHP 0.832064
SLE 24.630209
SLL 22802.762267
SOS 620.769097
SRD 37.371565
STD 22507.509112
SVC 9.505152
SYP 2732.18909
SZL 19.186037
THB 36.844105
TJS 11.568646
TMT 3.816863
TND 3.357418
TOP 2.54686
TRY 37.315762
TTD 7.37124
TWD 34.744318
TZS 2941.485633
UAH 44.769753
UGX 3976.971491
USD 1.087425
UYU 44.757171
UZS 13882.791224
VEF 3939255.43483
VES 46.385763
VND 27549.921083
VUV 129.101354
WST 3.046079
XAF 655.616565
XAG 0.032237
XAU 0.0004
XCD 2.938822
XDR 0.816476
XOF 655.613552
XPF 119.331742
YER 272.209715
ZAR 19.165977
ZMK 9788.13458
ZMW 29.083764
ZWL 350.150517
  • CMSD

    -0.1700

    24.66

    -0.69%

  • CMSC

    -0.0400

    24.55

    -0.16%

  • NGG

    -1.4800

    63.59

    -2.33%

  • BCC

    -1.3400

    133.03

    -1.01%

  • SCS

    -0.2000

    12.03

    -1.66%

  • GSK

    -0.2500

    36.76

    -0.68%

  • AZN

    -1.6800

    71.15

    -2.36%

  • RIO

    -1.0100

    64.89

    -1.56%

  • RELX

    -0.6900

    46.22

    -1.49%

  • RBGPF

    59.6000

    59.6

    +100%

  • RYCEF

    0.0800

    6.94

    +1.15%

  • JRI

    0.0300

    13.08

    +0.23%

  • BCE

    0.0200

    32.26

    +0.06%

  • VOD

    -0.1200

    9.27

    -1.29%

  • BTI

    0.6200

    34.98

    +1.77%

  • BP

    0.3400

    29.36

    +1.16%

'Waiting in vain': year on from pledge, world clings to fossil fuels
'Waiting in vain': year on from pledge, world clings to fossil fuels / Photo: Michal Cizek - AFP

'Waiting in vain': year on from pledge, world clings to fossil fuels

One year after world leaders issued the landmark call for a global move away from fossil fuels, nations are failing to turn that promise into action, say climate diplomats, campaigners and policy experts.

Text size:

Countries are being urged not to lose sight of that historic agreement ahead of November's COP29 climate negotiations, where fossil fuels are not top priority.

Despite last year's climate deal calling for the first time on countries to "transition away from fossil fuels", major economies are still planning oil and gas expansions in the decades ahead.

Renewable technology like solar and wind is being rolled-out at breakneck speed but not fast enough to stop burning more oil, coal and gas, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in October.

Global emissions -- caused mainly by fossil fuels -- are at record highs, pushing concentrations of planet-warming greenhouse gases to unprecedented levels, two UN agencies reported.

Since inking the watershed COP28 pact in Dubai "leaders have been grappling with how to turn those commitments into reality", said Katrine Petersen from E3G, a policy think tank.

"There has been a bit of a vacuum of political leadership on some of this... and a potentially worrying trend that this landmark energy package has been slipping off leaders' political agendas."

Countries threatened by climate disaster were "waiting in vain to see the sharp decline in fossil fuel production that was heralded", said Pa'olelei Luteru, a Samoan diplomat.

"Alas, saying something is one thing and actually meaning it is quite another," said Luteru, who chairs the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

- 'Weakening support' -

Papua New Guinea, an impoverished Pacific nation vulnerable to climate shocks, says it is "sick of the rhetoric" and is boycotting this year's UN-led talks in Azerbaijan altogether.

AOSIS lead coordinator Toiata Uili said they were concerned about "weakening political support" for tough fossil fuel commitments, but would not let bigger countries off the hook.

Azerbaijan's lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev has acknowledged that many countries want "clear next steps" at COP29 to show progress on the Dubai pledges.

Behind the scenes, this has faced strong pushback from oil-rich nations, said one western diplomat.

Some of these countries felt they were led into over-committing at Dubai and were very reluctant to agree anything more on fossil fuels, the diplomat added.

Azerbaijan is accused of being reluctant to prioritise fossil fuels during the climate talks to protect its own oil and gas interests.

The COP29 host denies this, but says its focus during the November 11-22 conference is finalising a contentious deal to boost climate finance.

"Yes, this is the finance COP... but it is also essential that the progress that leaders made last year on the energy front isn't lost," said Petersen.

- 'Empty words' -

Despite political obstacles, there are signs the transition is beginning.

In October, the IEA said clean technology was attracting twice the investment of fossil fuels and by 2030, half the world's electricity would come from low-carbon sources.

"But with higher energy use even fast renewables growth doesn't translate to fast falls in CO2 emissions," said Dave Jones from think tank Ember.

In October, G20 leaders -- whose economies account for three-quarters of global emissions -- reaffirmed they would shift away from fossil fuels.

But the gap between what countries say and what they do is significant, said Anne Olhoff, co-author of a damning UN scorecard published in October.

In the past year, just one country -- Madagascar -- had announced tougher climate policies, it said.

"If we look at action and ambition, nothing much has happened at the global level since last year's report," Olhoff said.

Countries face pressure to articulate what concrete steps they are taking to wean off fossil fuels in their next national climate plans, due early 2025.

Many are promising bold policies that align with agreed warming limits, but are approving new oil and gas fields -- an impossible contradiction, says the UN's expert climate panel.

The "worst culprits" were rich Western nations, said Oil Change International and other activist groups in October. But the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Brazil -- the COP28, COP29 and COP30 hosts, respectively -- were also ramping up fossil fuel production, they said.

Meanwhile, global temperatures continue to rise, unleashing devastating impacts on people and ecosystems.

"When we talk about climate pledges we are talking about more than just arbitrary, empty words," said Andreas Sieber from activist group 350.org.

L.Muratori--NZN