Alongside environmentalists and climate scientists, Bill Gates is the latest public figure to call on high-income countries to do more to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. While reducing emissions in developing countries can be difficult, due to a lack of funding and infrastructure, meaning it could take several more years to expand the renewable energy capacity of certain regions, Western nations have no such excuse.
Rich countries and regions, such as the United States and China, have some of the highest carbon emissions in the world, and many climate experts have criticised governments for not enforcing decarbonisation initiatives fast enough. Several high-income countries continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels for their power and heating, despite the huge potential for renewable alternatives.
This week, Microsoft’s founder, Bill Gates, said that rich countries “owe it to the world” to achieve net-zero emissions, during the opening dinner of the Ecosperity sustainability event in Singapore. Gates is the chairman of the non-profit Gates Foundation, which provides funding for a wide range of causes, including climate-related projects.
Speaking with Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action Ravi Menon, Gates stressed that high-income countries must achieve net zero even if the entire world cannot. “The notion that the entire world is going to get [to net zero] by 2050 is at this point not realistic,” said Gates. “There are levels of emissions that are small enough that the temperature worsening actually is not a problem,” he added. However, if rich nations can reach net zero, it demonstrates to other countries the potential to tackle the effects of the climate crisis.
The United Nations defines net zero as “cutting carbon emissions to a small amount of residual emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by nature and other carbon dioxide removal measures, leaving zero in the atmosphere.” According to the UN, “The science shows clearly that in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a liveable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Currently, the Earth is already about 1.2°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise. To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.”
Several countries around the globe have established net-zero carbon emissions pledges with various deadlines. As of June 2024, 107 countries, responsible for approximately 82 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, had adopted net-zero pledges either in law, in a policy document or a long-term strategy, or in a government announcement. Thousands of companies around the globe have made similar pledges, many aiming for around mid-century.
However, recent analyses suggest that many countries are far from achieving their climate goals. Just 13 of the 195 Paris Agreement signatories had published their new emissions-cutting plans, known as “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs), by the 10 February deadline. The missing countries represent 83 percent of global emissions and almost 80 percent of the world’s economy. Meanwhile, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said the existing NDCs were enough to reduce global emissions by 2.6 percent from 2019 to 2030, but were nowhere near the 43 percent cut required to stay on track for the heating target of 1.5 degrees.
Gates said this week that the world must be bolder with innovation investments that seek to combat climate change. “The sooner we get there, the better. [But] we need the examples,” stated Gates. He explained that one of the main barriers to innovation is securing risk capital for projects.
In addition to failing to fund innovative solutions, many have accused high-income countries of backsliding on their climate targets. In April, over 175 countries met in London at the International Maritime Organisation to discuss the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. However, several developing country leaders were not optimistic about the outcome of the event based on previous experience.
“It is difficult to understand what these countries are thinking,” said Ambassador Albon Ishoda from the Marshall Islands. “Maybe they are worried about their national sovereignty. But we are basing our argument [for decarbonisation and a levy on shipping] on scientific grounds. The most vulnerable countries are acting as the adults in the room.” Ishoda stressed that, in 2023, governments agreed on a roadmap to decarbonise shipping by 2050, although little progress has been seen.
For years, environmentalists, climate scientists, the leaders of countries at risk of climate disasters, and many others have been urging high-income countries to do more to cut emissions or face the consequences. While many developing nations cannot achieve net zero without a major influx of funding and infrastructure development, most rich countries have no excuse for their slow decarbonisation progress. However, based on the current global rate of decarbonisation, it seems unlikely we will meet the aims set out in the Paris Agreement.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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