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Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the country would discontinue building new coal-fired energy during a meeting on the final day of the United Nations International Energy Forum, Sept. 24, 2021. He explained the purpose is to get their energy from renewable sources by 70 percent and achieve a net-zero level of carbon emissions.
Governments like Sri Lanka, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Montenegro, and the United Kingdom presented a “No New Coal Power Compact” to stop building coal-fired power plants, according to the climate advocacy group Sustainable Energy for All.
As international leaders gather at the United Nations, presidents and top ministers have to set apart those diplomatic tensions and act together to slow the global warming crisis, something they already did in the past. With only six weeks to the worldwide weather summit in Scotland, leaders implored rich countries at the United Nations General Assembly to take this global warming as a global climate crisis affecting all humanities.
The Assembly should provide high-profile possibilities for nations to publicly commit a more concrete motion to reduce greenhouse fuel emissions. Unfortunately, the promises from the Biden administration, the European Union, and different advocates did not materialize.
According to the United Nations report posted Friday, if China and India fail to pursue bolder plans, greenhouse fuel emissions will go up by sixteen percent and 2.7 Celsius over time.
The 2015 Paris agreement was to ramp up the voluntary commitments to reduce greenhouse emissions by the end of the decade. The Glasgow summit was one year behind schedule because of the pandemic. They expect to see daring and tangible commitments five years after the Paris agreement. The significant purpose is to reduce and replace the carbon emission plans every five years.
Scores of nations have already introduced their competitive targets like the United States under President Biden pledged to reduce emissions by half. Despite all guarantees, the crisis remains at a risky level, according to the United Nations evaluation. Its expert studied the weather plans of a hundred nations and concluded that they were heading in the wrong direction.
Scientists believe that reducing worldwide carbon emissions by 45 percent will impact the influences of warmer conditions.
According to the United Nations, out of the 191 nations under the Agreement, only 113 stepped forward with their pledges. However, British minister Alok Sharma who will chair the COP26 conference, stated that countries with bolder plans were “already bending the curve of emissions downwards.”
In another evaluation, the World Resources Institute and Climate Analytics showed how China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are collectively answerable for 33 percent of greenhouse gases have not begun to post up-to-date plans.
Written by Janet Grace Ortigas
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Reuters: Sri Lanka to cease building coal-fired plants, aims to be net-zero emitter by 2050; by Uditha Jayasinghe
UN News: ‘Tipping point’ for climate action: Time’s running out to avoid catastrophic heating
The Washington Post: As they gather at U.N., world leaders face furious push to act quickly on climate change; by Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of DUB Ramp’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Kyle Pearce’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License