Efforts to decarbonize polluting sectors has been undermined by a lack of international collaboration and could result in decades of delay on the road to net zero emissions, the International Energy Agency recently said
Against the backdrop of surging energy prices and the threat of a global food crisis, the IEA urged nations to use the upcoming COP27 meeting in Egypt to “accelerate progress towards net zero emissions by decades, cut energy costs and boost food security for billions of people worldwide.”
Greater coordination between countries would make key green technologies cheaper for developing nations to deploy at scale, the IEA added.
Its Breakthrough Agenda Report, requested by world leaders to check on the initiatives progress, noted some achievements, including the doubling of sales of electric vehicles to some 6.6 million units in 2021. It also said that renewable capacity in 2022 is forecast to be up eight percent year-on-year, pushing past the 300 gigawatt mark for the first time.
But it said much more progress was needed for the global economy to achieve carbon neutrality this century. It recommended the establishment of low-carbon “super grids” spanning multiple nations to improve energy security while reducing emissions. It also called for international finance centers to channel funding and expertise more quickly to coal-dependent nations in order to accelerate their low-carbon transition.
Power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture account for some 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and the IEA says the bulk of reductions needed by 2030 in order to keep the Paris Agreement temperature goal of 1.5C in play should come from those sectors. International collaboration can make that transition quicker, cheaper and easier.
The Philippines is one of the countries that can benefit from such international collaboration, but at the same time, our country has to be ready to act quickly so it can contribute to the global effort, instead of being caught napping and letting others take priority, when the technology, funding or initiatives become available.*
