COP26 opens opportunities for renewable energy sector

During the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, global leaders made significant commitments to act on carbon reductions, financial investment, and climate change support. This creates opportunities for renewable energy to replace fossil energy, which has been shown to be destructive to our ecosystem.

More than 100 countries promised to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 during the COP26 summit, which began on October 31. China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, stayed true to its plan, allowing emissions to rise until 2030 before decreasing to zero by 2060. However, in an unexpected move, the United States and China agreed to collaborate in the near future to “strengthen and accelerate climate action and collaboration.”

It was the first time China and the United States, the world’s largest emitters, shook hands and agreed to work together on this issue. ”We’re going to work together to accelerate the reduction.”  John Kerry, the United States’ climate envoy, told NPR.

However, phasing out the use of fossil fuels to reduce emissions is insufficient when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations announced in August 2021 that the earth’s temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial period in its report “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis” (1850-1900). Countries must increase the phase-out of coal, reduce deforestation, accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, and boost investment in renewable energy to meet the COP26’s goals. This is the most crucial content on the COP26 agenda.
Renewable energy is a pollution-free, ecologically favorable energy source. Many applications of this energy source are quite beneficial, allowing households, enterprises, and factories to save power. It is a terrific source of energy that does not run out and may be used for a variety of purposes and locations. Because it is a natural energy source, the cost for fuel used to exploit and maintain it is low. It also has a far longer lifespan than other energy sources.

During the summit, the Energy EU Commission teamed up with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to host a discussion on offshore renewable energy and green hydrogen. Speakers at the event included politicians and industry leaders. They discussed developments, benefits, and the possibility for future energy sources on a local and global scale.

Furthermore, a new toolkit unveiled on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 aims to unleash sustainable energy investments for tiny island nations, many of which are largely reliant on imported fossil fuels for power generation. In 2019, SIDS actually announced a joint commitment to attain 100% renewable energy targets by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. However, they lack the necessary budget to make this happen. Therefore, this toolset assists countries in turning sustainable energy transition plans into investable business possibilities.

This toolkit supports the analysis of issues such as project scale, lack of interest from significant international investors, capital shortages in local financial institutions, and inadequate regulatory frameworks for foreign investments. It also allows users to make profit and cost analyses and provide the groundwork for investing in their country’s energy sector.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: “This toolkit can assist SIDS develop business cases and strategies to facilitate investment in clean energy projects, particularly in the power sector.”

In summary, the Green Agreement, events on renewable energy’s role and potential, and the toolkits adopted at COP26 have paved the way for countries to phase out destructive fossil fuels that pollute the environment. On the other hand, it opens the door to new energy industries to grow rapidly in the future
Bích Hằng and TechBiz’s team