Global energy transition was a core focus of the summit, given its potential to make up at least 55% of the necessary carbon emission reductions necessary to keep global warming within the 1.5-degree rise parameters.
Perhaps the most crucial agreement element of the summit was the written acknowledgement of over 40 nations that “coal power generation is the single biggest cause of global temperature increases”. The signatory nations recognised the imperative to “urgently scale-up the deployment of clean power to make it the “most affordable and accessible option globally”. The concrete pledge of this agreement is to phase out unabated coal power use over the next two decades. In this context, unabated coal power refers to burning coal for power generation but without using any mitigating technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, such as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).
Other key areas of focus include the rapid expansion of green financing, greater transparency in carbon markets (after contentious and unreliable results in many carbon offsetting activities globally), greater innovation in emerging areas such as green hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, and the sweeping reduction of methane gas generation.
In all these areas, the Middle East as a region is either highly proactive or even cultivating global leadership status. Particularly when it comes to harnessing solar energy, creating green hydrogen and cultivating green finance vehicles.
