The 26e edition of the Conference of the Parties to be held in Glasgow, Scotland (COP26), from 1er on November 12, should be a tipping point for actions to be taken in the fight against climate change. Because the first part of the sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in August, is not in the shade.
If the international community wants to seriously tackle climate warming, and its deleterious consequences (coastal erosion, fires, floods), the time to act and accelerate the pace of the energy transition has come. Now with an “immediate, rapid and massive” reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in the words of the IPCC.
To achieve this, it was previously necessary for the various governments to make general commitments. It is done.
To date, around 60 countries, including the largest emitters, China (for 2060) and the United States (2050), have made carbon neutrality promises. These confirm that a sense of climate emergency has spread.
But betting on a horizon as far away as 2050 is for many the equivalent of kicking the ball in touch and relying on technological miracles, which may never happen.
Expectations therefore lie in the ambitious nature of the actions that will be carried out in the short term, by 2030, to progress towards carbon neutrality. Because committing to this transition is no small task: some even see it as a new industrial revolution.
Among the projects to be undertaken during COP26, there is that of making operational Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (2015). This article provides for a greenhouse gas emissions trading system between countries, and it will be necessary to demonstrate how it will be implemented in international trade.
Europe has taken the lead in this area, with a carbon adjustment mechanism at the borders. This mechanism will force exporters to Europe to buy carbon certificates.
Funding will also be a sensitive issue: developing countries will ask how the rich countries, which in 2009 proclaimed their desire to spend 100 billion annually in their favor to adapt to climate variations, will respect and put this promise into effect. force.
PHOTO MUNIR UZ ZAMAN, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
Installation of geotextile bags to slow erosion of the banks of the Padma River, Bangladesh
Energy transition, a subject of bitter debate
Electricity production and transport activities are those that cause the most GHG emissions, ie two-thirds of the total. These are therefore by far the priority sectors to target in order to move towards carbon neutrality.
The debates in the energy sector in preparation for COP26 concern, among other things, the share of nuclear power, including small modular reactors, a technology for which Canada is positioning itself, and the role of gas as a transitional energy.
Gas is an emitting resource, but considerably less than coal and oil. But this resource is now targeted by climate activists, in particular for its emissions of methane, the main component of natural gas. Whereas, for developing countries, gas is seen as a stable source of energy, suitable to support their economic growth, but without polluting the atmosphere as much as rich countries have done for two centuries.
Carbon capture and sequestration technology, which allows carbon to be captured and then sequestered in the soil or used for commercial purposes, should also receive further attention.
This is of great interest to Canada. The western hydrocarbon-producing provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan) are world leaders in this field and see this technology as a major axis of transition for their economy, particularly for hydrogen production.
The central role of governments
COP26, like those before, will bring together governments, but also a number of stakeholders (companies, institutions, NGOs). But it is the governments who have their hands on the levers to resolutely guide the planet towards carbon neutrality and to establish the international collaboration required to this end.
Through their policies and, above all, the laws, regulations and incentives they put in place, they guide the market and its innovations, and therefore investments that affect both energy supply and demand. They have a responsibility to act to increase the opportunities that the energy transition will bring for their national economy.
And, just as important, governments must put in place measures to ensure that this transition is carried out in the fairest and most equitable manner possible: that is, to provide support to communities, industries and businesses. workers who will be more affected by the vast transformations that are coming.
* The author is also an energy consultant.
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