The voluntary nature of these climate commitments is a big reason
While global climate talks, policies and initiatives are progressive on paper, executing those to arrive at desired results at the pre-determined timelines are another thing. The primary reason is that most climate actions are voluntary in nature.
A new report by Climate Analytics puts to the test the impact of international climate commitments on national outcomes, and analyses any gaps. It specifically looked at four climate pledges that were announced at various COPs, covering coal, renewables, energy efficiency and methane. They are:
• The Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement (COP26)
• The Energy Transition Council (COP26)
• The Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency (COP28)
• The Global Methane Pledge (COP26)
The study’s focus is the impact of these pledges on eight Asian nations — Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. All these nations are participants in all four pledges and are also heavily dependent on fossil fuels for their energy requirements.
Furthermore, the report also took into account two Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), underway in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Voluntary nature of pledges hinders progress
According to the report, the deployment of renewables to meet the tripling requirement as enshrined by the Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency was insufficient. Across countries, the main thorn is grid modernisation, which is hindering the process of fast integration and deployment of renewable energy. Even though Japan and Vietnam made some gains, regulatory and technical challenges have put the progress in the back seat.
Except Japan, none of these eight countries are working to achieve better energy efficiency, found the report. Dubbed ‘the first fuel’ as it is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce emissions, only Japan achieved a 4% reduction in annual emissions last year. However, it is unclear whether this was due to international climate commitments, found the report.
“One issue we found with the pledges is their voluntary nature, and lack of enforceability, which limits their impact. Governments can make bold statements in signing up to these pledges at a COP, without having to come up with concrete action,” said Nandini Das, a climate and energy economist at Climate Analytics.
Coal is still a roadblock
Most of these countries are still heavily reliant on coal for their energy needs. Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are expanding coal usage, and have commissioned new plants as well, according to the report. There also is a lack of coal plant retirement plans. Strong economies like Japan and South Korea depend on imported coal.
Parallely, LNG seems to be growing and taking away investment from renewable energy projects, found the report. Countries like Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam, especially, are keen on big LNG import projects which could keep these nations locked in with long-term fossil fuel usage.
“While these pledges provide a foundation for progress, their content has been, at best, loosely integrated into NDCs and national policies so far. This year’s new round of NDCs is an opportunity for governments to show whether these voluntary pledges will actually drive ambition and action, or be remembered as political and diplomatic posturing,” said Thomas Houlie, the report’s lead author.
While there are concerns that climate action is not progressing at the required pace, the report also pointed out that these eight countries can close this gap between their NDC commitments and Paris Agreement targets. Avoiding long-term fossil fuel lock-ins and accelerating renewable energy deployment will help immensely.
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