At the World Climate Conference in Dubai, the climate culprits, the USA and China, shared their views - or perhaps not. Despite their differing stances on various matters, these two global giants surprisingly agreed on one thing: Ignoring the pressing issue of phasing out oil, gas, and coal, a demand echoed by numerous nations and environmental groups.
Moving on to the USA, the self-proclaimed largest oil producer globally, and the country with the most significant oil consumption, chose not to address the matter of fossil fuels' phase-out during the conference. US Vice President Kamala Harris didn't even drop a hint about it in her speech to the plenary session. Meanwhile, China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, also kept its trap shut.
Now, let's dive deeper into the USA's situation. Despite its impressive standing as the world's largest oil producer and consumer, the USA is far from being exempt from climate guilt. Its government is called upon to act, just like China: having the second-highest greenhouse gas emissions in the world, largely due to CO2 and methane releases. What's more, the per capita CO2 emissions in the USA are nearly twice that of China.
Moreover, the US government's annual climate report confirms that while greenhouse gas emissions are falling, it is not enough to meet the commitments and targets. To bring down greenhouse gas emissions, the USA has set ambitious goals: generating electricity without CO2 emissions by 2035 and reducing emissions to net zero by 2050 at the latest.
However, at the conference, the USA climate envoy John Kerry shared a surprising announcement: The USA would join an alliance of states to phase out coal. This pledge is crucial to keep the Paris Agreement's target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, with the end date set for 2035 at the latest.
But experts question whether this timeline is achievable or sufficient. In the meantime, the climate crisis is happening now in the USA. Recent extreme weather events have hit the country continuously, including record heat, drought, powerful tropical storms, heavy rainfalls, and devastating forest fires. Major metropolitan areas such as New York and Washington have even vanished in thick orange smoke from Canadian forest fires this summer.
Now, shifting our focus to China, Vice Prime Minister Ding Xuexiang began his speech by emphasizing how China has pioneered the energy transition. Yet, the country intends to rely on climate-harming coal for decades to come and is not aiming to hit climate neutrality before 2060 at the earliest.
In his speech, Ding Xuexiang shared some positive developments regarding China's energy transition. In mid-November, an analysis by the Helsinki-based Center for Energy Research and Clean Air (CREA) revealed that China's greenhouse gas emissions might structurally decrease as early as next year. However, experts believe that phasing out coal emissions on a gradual basis from 2030 is incompatible with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Interestingly, if the boom in renewable energy continues, China might achieve this goal more rapidly. The growth in solar energy has been remarkable, with an installed capacity of around 210 gigawatts expected for 2023.
In conclusion, both the USA and China are addressing the phase-out of fossil fuels through a range of measures, albeit with different approaches due to their distinct positions as major oil producers and consumers. While the USA is focusing on domestic production growth and renewable energy commitments, China is leveraging significant clean energy expansion and diversifying its energy imports to minimize its reliance on fossil fuels. The world is closely watching these two giants as they navigate the realities of climate change.
