Next month, the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow will see over 100 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, participating to discuss climate change at Cop26. Many people are expecting aggressive climate pledges from the leaders to tackle global warming.

The event comes at a very critical time for the world. But can the world provide a roadmap and investments to avert changes in the environment?

International Energy Agency (IEA) has some bad news. The 2021 World Energy Outlook (WEO) by the IEA says that even if all current net-zero pledges by governments were implemented, which in itself is a question mark, the world would only achieve 20% of the emissions cuts by 2030 required to hit the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. That means a temperature rise of about 4.8 degrees by 2100 – a figure the United Nations recently said would be “catastrophic” for the planet. (https://www.iea.org/news/world-energy-outlook-2021-shows-a-new-energy-economy-is-emerging-but-not-yet-quickly-enough-to-reach-net-zero-by-2050)

The IEA says the World Energy Outlook report will provide the world leaders in Glasgow with a perspective and an idea about the challenges ahead. And they are huge. For instance, according to the report, the difference between current plans and the change necessary to reach net zero needs huge financial commitments to the tune of $4tn over the next decade alone to reach the target. (https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021)

If these investments come to fruition it could also mean lots of jobs as clean energy essentials such as wind turbines, solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, electrolyzers and fuel cells will have to be produced in huge numbers. But at the same time, 70% of the $4tn investment will have to be made in the emerging markets and developing economies.

With the world seeing a huge energy crunch and China and other countries going back to coal-fired energy, the outlook for clean energy in the immediate future doesn’t look very bright. In fact, the IEA report warns that a “large rebound” in fossil fuel use has driven a steep year-on-year increase, and this will probably worsen before it gets better. (https://www.edie.net/news/9/G20-must-strengthen-climate-targets-if-Paris-Agreement-is-to-be-met/)

Read more:

The daunting task before the world:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/13/carbon-emissions-will-drop-just-40-by-2050-with-countries-current-pledges?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20211013&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

‘Adapt or die’:
https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-brief/climate-change-adapt-or-die-warning-from-environment-agency