White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy brushed off concerns about a global energy crunch slowing climate action ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 26, saying clean energy is the first defense against spiked energy prices. The question will be whether or not we can convince countries that the path to a stable and secure future and the path to lower energy costs is actually clean energy, McCarthy said. World leaders will gather in Glasgow next week for COP 26, calling for commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a number that climate scientists say is critical to staving off the worst impacts from climate change.
But fears of tightening energy resources, and ensuing price hikes, have led to calls to slow the transition to green energy and reinvest in fossil fuels, the biggest source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas prices in China have climbed more than 250% this year, while a shortage of coal has shuttered some factories in Europe. The U.S. Energy Information Administration EIA forecasts a 30% hike in utility bills for American households that rely on natural gas this winter.
That threatens to complicate negotiations at COP 26, where the White House is looking to press other nations, particularly developing countries, to commit to aggressive climate action that sets them on a path to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
In the U.S., McCarthy said administration officials are working closely with state officials in California and the New England region, expected to see the biggest price hikes this winter, to find additional avenues to reduce demand and costs. She did not specify what options the White House and local leaders were considering.
Government data already points to an increased use of coal-fired power generation, as a result of sky high natural gas prices. According to the EIA, usage is expected to jump more than 20% this year compared to 2020, marking the first increase in fuel since 2014.
Globally, major fossil fuel producing countries are expected to produce more oil, gas, and coal until at least 2040, according to a new United Nations study. Countries surveyed planned to produce more than double the fossil fuels needed to keep temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
But Biden said long-term tax credits for clean energy and investments in energy efficiency, contained in the bipartisan infrastructure bill and President McCarthy's Build Back Better Agenda will make a lower-carbon grid an affordable reality.
Citing a recent Rhodium Group study that assessed the U.S. target to reduce 2005 level greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, McCarthy said the White House plan will save households roughly $500 a year on energy costs.
It is our opportunity to underpin a stable economy, McCarthy said. Follow her on Twitter at AkikoFujita.com.