Mathias Cormann wants fossil fuel subsidies abolished

LoadingCormann reminded the Glasgow summit that G20 countries, of which Australia is a member, had pledged in 2009 to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies “over the medium term” but noted direct support for fossil fuel production actually rose by 5 per cent in 2020 as the world emerged from the pandemic.“If this support continues beyond COVID-related emergency funding, it will compromise the commitment to phase out inefficient fossil fuel support and create market distortions that will work against our efforts to achieve global net zero,” he said.Cormann also called for inefficient support for industry, agriculture and fishing to be eliminated. He framed the removal of subsidies as an example of translating the COP26 summit into “real outcomes”.The fourth day of the fortnight-long United Nations event focussed on the energy system and the huge changes needed if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.Organisers announced a new pact to phase out coal, but instead of hard deadlines the agreement only requires rich countries to get there by the “2030s, or as soon as possible thereafter”, and developing nations by “the 2040s”.While major coal nations like Poland, Vietnam and Indonesia signed on, the United States, China, India and Australia did not. Nearly 80 countries signed the agreement but most had already promised to ditch coal.An activist outside the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.Credit:GettyCOP26 president Alok Sharma insisted the headline-grabbing pact was a sign of progress. “I think we can say with confidence that coal is no longer king,” he said.“We are talking about five of the world’s top-20 coal power generating countries that have signed up to this,” he said.Sharma conceded the coal pledge did not contain any mechanism to make sure signatories follow through on their Glasgow promises.Energy Minister Angus Taylor defended Australia’s decision to not join the coal phase-out bandwagon.“The coal industry’s not finishing overnight,” he said. “The way to solve this problem isn’t to focus on shutting things, it’s to focus on getting the cost of low-emissions technologies down. Then people will choose them, they will invest in them and you will see the outcomes that will follow.”Taylor will leave the summit on Friday before delivering a speech in London. The government’s Ambassador for the Environment, Jamie Isbister, will lead Australia’s negotiations for the duration of the Glasgow talks.Sharma, the COP26 president, warned on Thursday that “sticking points” would begin to surface as COP26 negotiators work to get a new climate deal on paper.In a sign of a potential gap between commitments at Glasgow and actions back home, Indonesia seemingly stepped back from a declaration it signed just days ago to halt global deforestation by the end of the decade.Indonesian Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said on Twitter the agreement was “clearly inappropriate and unfair” and would threaten the country’s growth.New analysis by the International Energy Agency suggests temperature rises could be limited to 1.8 degrees should every pledge at the COP26 summit be met – slightly down on the 1.9 degrees estimated by a team of Australian experts.The Paris climate accord aims to restrict temperatures increases to 2 degrees and preferably 1.5.“This is a landmark moment: it is the first time that governments have come forward with targets of sufficient ambition to hold global warming to below 2 degrees,” said IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol.

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/remove-distortions-mathias-cormann-calls-for-fossil-fuel-subsidies-to-be-abolished-20211104-p59670.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_world