“Fossil fuel eradication is still a huge taboo in international climate talks,” declared Romain Ioualalen.
The network of environmental organizations CAN asked this Thursday to end “the taboo that still exists in the climate talks” on the need to eradicate hydrocarbons, the main source of pollution, which have been mentioned for the first time in an official document at COP26 .
“Fossil fuel eradication is still a huge taboo in international climate talks. At this summit, we are engaged in a process that is expressly designed to avoid talking about it,” said Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Director at Oil Change International.
Ioualalen noted that hydrocarbons were not mentioned in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement and celebrated as “an important step” that they are mentioned “for the first time” in the draft published yesterday on the final agreement of this UN climate summit.
In that interim document, countries commit to “phase out coal and fossil fuel subsidies.”
The activist also considered good news the announcement scheduled for today of an alliance of countries, led by Costa Rica, that pledge not to approve new fossil fuel extraction projects in their jurisdiction.
Ioualalen said that this initiative, whose list of members is still unknown, “is a positive development” that indicates “a change in the debate” and that some countries are finally considering the need to stop the extraction and consumption of hydrocarbons, key to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Catherine Pettengel, from the Climate Action Network, said for her part that for this summit to be able to claim that it has been a success, it must provide the promised financing to developing countries – at least $ 100 billion annually – and allocate a greater part to adaptation and to the damages and losses that the climate already causes in many territories, instead of focusing funds on mitigation measures. (I)
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