COP26: agreement on fossil fuel projects abroad

In 1 minute, the highlights of COP26 1:15

(CNN) -

At least 20 countries have agreed to end funding for fossil fuel projects in the extreme, a UK government official told CNN, in a deal that is expected to be announced on Thursday in the framework. of the COP26 climate summit.

Another source close to the summit negotiations said the United States is part of the agreement.

State Department officials did not respond to CNN to confirm whether the country is involved.

Several countries had already agreed to end financing for coal projects abroad, but this agreement would be the first of its kind to also include oil and gas projects.

The deal "represents a rule change that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago," Iskander Erzini Vernoit, a climate finance expert at the E3G think tank, told CNN.

How much fossil fuel production will increase

In October, the United Nations Environment Program's annual "output gap" report concluded that 15 of the major fossil fuel-generating countries will produce roughly 110% more coal, oil and gas by 2030 than that would be necessary to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and 45% more than would be supported by a 2 degree rise.

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A recent study published in the journal Nature revealed that the vast majority of the planet's remaining oil, natural gas and coal reserves must be underground by 2050 to avoid these consequences.

Most regions of the world, according to the authors, must reach peak fossil fuel production now or in the next decade to limit the critical climate threshold.

And the latest insights from the International Energy Agency say more aggressive climate action is needed by world leaders, even as the shift to clean energy leads to a decline in the oil industry.

China's pledge on fossil fuels ahead of COP26

During the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that the country will not build any new coal power projects abroad.

The pledge marks a change in policy around its extensive Belt and Road Infrastructure Initiative, which had already begun to scale back coal-related projects.

Xi added that China will also increase financial aid for low-carbon and green energy projects in developing countries.

The output gap report revealed that the world's largest economies have funneled more than US $ 300 billion in new funding toward fossil fuel-related activities since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, which is more than they have. invested in clean energy alternatives.

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"The results of the models show that the three fuels - coal, oil and gas - have to have started to decline basically from 2020 for us to be consistent with a path that allows us to be consistent with limiting long-term warming to 1 5 degrees C, "Ploy Achakulwisut, lead author of the report and a scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute, previously told CNN.

"Continuing to delay action will only make the problem more difficult."