The climate conference in Glasgow last week ended with a mixture of satisfaction and discontent.
There is no doubt that there has been a positive evolution from the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, where only industrialised nations (except Canada and the US) were committed, to the Paris Agreement of 2015. The Paris Agreement of 2015 adopted the important target of 2 °C not to be exceeded compared to the pre-industrial era (but without binding commitments).
This last conference was strongly influenced by the decisive pressure of millions of young people mobilised in the streets of half the world. EU Commissioner Ursula von Der Leyen explicitly stressed that she had decided to raise the European target for reducing emissions by 2030 from 40 to 55% compared to 1990 precisely because of the pressure from the youth marches that invaded the cities.
These are the objectives set, between important commitments and discontent
Among the positive results, we include the objective of a maximum increase in global temperature of 1.5 °C (today it is 1.1 °C). Of course, this is far from a foregone conclusion. But from this point of view, a second important result concerns the request, to all countries that have not yet done so, to raise their reduction targets to 2030 by presenting them at the next conference to be held in November 2022 in Egypt.
Also significant is the decision to stop deforestation by 2030 (although the date should have been brought forward) and to reduce methane leakage by 30%, from extraction to gas pipelines, which are very harmful to the climate.
Among the limitations, the last-minute replacement of the commitment to "intensify efforts towards reduction", and no longer "towards elimination", of coal without carbon dioxide capture systems (very expensive and applicable only for a part of the plants) and the end of subsidies to inefficient fossil fuels should be highlighted. The switch from "phasing out" to "phasing down" imposed by India and China caused much discontent among the delegates.
Regrettably, the 100 billion per year to be given to the poor countries most affected by climate damage continues to be put off, but with the promise of doubling the figure after 2025.
A strong push for renewable energy
The final document of the Glasgow Cop26 contains, among other things, an invitation to governments to accelerate the use of renewable energy for electricity production.
Renewable technologies offer significant benefits in terms of job creation, energy security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, food and water production, poverty reduction and business creation.
It was recognised that the African continent - which has 13% of the world's population and uses only 4% of the planet's energy - is a laboratory for experimenting with innovative solutions with a new mindset, the kind of innovation that Europe and Italy are also betting on to achieve energy transition.
It is important to note that the energy market is an important catalyst for economic development, as well as the most sustainable way of producing energy in the long term. In our country, the South - where 40.2% of total clean energy is concentrated - is making important strides in the energy efficiency of production processes and in the use of renewable energy. Our South accounts for 37.4% of photovoltaic power, 96.5% of wind power and 27.2% of bioenergy plant power. Analysing the environment and sustainability, the bio-economy in Southern Italy is worth 23.6 billion euro of added value, 6.7% of the total economy of the area (6.4% in Italy) and 23.6% of the national figure.
There is still a long way to go...
At a global level, however, the transition to clean energy is happening at a worryingly slow pace. First of all, it should be noted that investment in renewables today is only a fraction (one third) of what would be needed, and this is mainly due to delays in developing economies that do not receive sufficient support from richer countries to make the desired progress in universal access to energy.
That the energy recipe of the future should have more photovoltaics and wind and less coal is a necessity for human and environmental health. There is still a long way to go towards a world of renewable energy, but important signals are also coming from the world of economics. An interesting project to support small and medium-sized Italian companies in the energy transition is the one proposed by Noleggio Energia, which will soon be live on our platform with a fundraising campaign. More information on this very innovative reality is available here.