UAE, 4 December 2023 (TDI): 118 countries excluding India and China signed a pledge on 2 December to double their rate of energy efficiency improvements and triple their renewable energy capacity by 2030 at the COP28 conference.
Among one of the key discussions for this year’s COP28, is the global target to reach 11TW of renewable generation capacity by the end of the decade, with solar PV playing an important role in achieving that target due to its continued growth and fast deployment.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed the COP28 climate conference. She highlighted that reaching the world’s climate goals “starts with transforming the energy sector” and less consumption of it. The annual global climate conference takes place from 30 November to 12 December.
Moreover, Leyen’s speech launched a global pledge of 118 countries that want to triple global renewable capacity and double energy efficiency improvements.
The European Union declared that it will contribute €2.3 billion (US$2.5 billion) in response to the Global Pledge to help the energy transition in nearby nations as well as globally.
Leyen said in a statement, “In the next two years, we will invest 2.3 billion euros from the EU budget to support the energy transition in our neighborhood and around the globe. This pledge and this financial support will create green jobs and sustainable growth by investing in technologies of the future. And, of course, it will reduce emissions which is the heart of our work at COP28.”
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Nonetheless, many significant markets, including China and India, which are projected to add 230GW of renewable energy in 2023 and are significantly speeding up the development of renewables, are still among the nations that have not signed the pledge.
Many emerging countries in Asia are also missing, with Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines have yet to sign the pledge. Other notable nations still not on that list are South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Russia or Egypt.
Activists emphasized that pledges should be incorporated into the final text of the two-week climate meeting in Dubai, since pledges are not legally obligatory. The EU considers this essential, although it is anticipated to be difficult.
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