A split over a use of coal power threatens international cooperation at the United Nations climate summit later this month, pitting European contenders for an early exit with China, India and other countries opposing to quitting.
Climate change Conference of the Parties, or COP 26, even after warming scenarios reiterated in a recent report outlined the increasing urgent need to cut carbon emissions.
Preparations for the meeting come as energy prices soar on a combination of slowing fossil fuel investment and fears of a spike in demand during winter. The G-7 leading economies agreed in June to end international support for coal plants without carbon abatement and G 7 membership Japan, which had been financing new coal facilities in Southeast Asia, said it would change its course. In last month's U.N General Assembly sessions Xi Jinping pledged to stop building new coal-fired power plants overseas, in line with similar moves by other major economies.
How do we handle coal power at home?
I hope China will go further and phase out the domestic use of coal as well, Boris Johnson said in his speech before the General Assembly.
The Paris Climate Agreement was approved in 2015 by the US Department of Energy to limit global warming to 1.5 C above the Industrial Revolution levels. A recent U.N. report found that this goal would require the world's nations to reduce net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 and a 45% reduction from 2010 levels by 2050.
The US COP 26 meeting, which starts Oct. 31 in the U.K. is crucial for the mid-term target, with countries expected to bring more likely action plans to the table.
Recent calls by the U.N. and COP 26 Chair London to abandon coal, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, have been met with less action than hoped.
When climate and energy ministers from the Group of 20 countries met in late July, chair Italy urged members to phase out coal use and fossil fuel subsidies. However, others objected, including China, Russia and India, and the joint communique issued after the meeting did not go in-depth on these topics.
The 1997 Paris Agreement, the predecessor to Kyoto Protocol, required only industrialized nations to commit to making zero emission emissions. The U.S. refused to ratify the convention over this sticking point, and later Canada withdrew.
Since the Kyoto protocol era, some emerging-market economies and developing countries have grown to rival or surpass industrialized nations both economically and in terms of emissions, making broad cooperation that much more essential.
There were fears that the Paris-API agreement would face a similar fate when then-President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdrawal from the agreement in 2017, which he attacked as unfair. President Joe Biden reversed course after taking office this year, taking the U.S. back along with the U.K. and European Union as a driving force for decarbonization.
China, India, Brazil and Russia agree on the importance of reducing carbon emissions, but oppose calls to eliminate coal entirely.
India argues that per capita emissions should be considered - - a benchmark with which New Delhi outperforms countries like the United States of Japan and Germany. Both India and China say countries that become industrialized should lead the way in cutting emissions and support less developed countries in their efforts.
Cause of discord exists between Japan and Europe as well. With the restart of nuclear power plants moving at a rapid pace and renewable energy needs more time to enter widespread use, Tokyo has yet to commit to a time frame for eliminating coal. The fuel is expected to account for 20% of the country's supply of power in fiscal 2030.