Posted on June, 22 2021
(21 June 2021) – A UN meeting taking place this week will virtually bring together national ministers and stakeholders in the energy sector for discussions to develop a global roadmap for energy to accelerate access and transition to clean energy by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. The report of this meeting is intended to set the groundwork for a large-scale mobilization of commitments, including scaled-ambition, by non-state actors this year.
The Ministerial-level Thematic Forums mark another ‘milestone’ on the road to the High-level Dialogue on Energy in September 2021 and, ultimately, COP26.
Kaarina Kolle, WWF Senior Europe Beyond Coal Finance & Utility Coordinator says, “WWF welcomes the collective effort to raise the profile of energy before the pivotal climate meeting in November. However, the elected officials are still holding back from translating intent into real world commitments to simultaneously phase-out all fossil fuels and phase in renewable energy”.
Assertive conservation efforts and a rapid ramp-up of renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, are both pivotal to prevent habitat loss and species extinctions and, to avoid catastrophic climate change.
While the aggressive expansion of renewable energy is essential to society and the thriving of biodiversity itself, the way in which this unfolds may pose a threat to global biodiversity. It is already clear that renewable energy can be land-use intensive and is affecting conservation areas.
“If nations pursue renewable energy expansion without the needed guardrails, they risk undermining the global mission to avert the biodiversity crisis. Joint strategic planning of the twin desired missions (renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation) is essential. It requires political recognition each time energy transition is debated,” she says.
WWF Global Energy Lead Dean Cooper says WWF is calling on leaders - who have stepped forward as champions in this process - to demonstrate leadership through ensuring their Nationally Determined Contributions (or national climate plans and targets) have strong and specific energy components and supporting policies.
“These must contribute to energy access, a clean, and just energy transition and, nature-compatible and pro-poor energy finance and investment, joining up the climate and nature agendas. Each champion government must show leadership to accelerate the energy transitions towards a net-zero emissions society and a nature-compatible 100% renewable energy system by 2050 at the latest,” he says.
Notes to Editors:
WWF’s expectations for each thematic area are here. A high level summary of these are:
- Energy compacts: non-state actors should align with a 1.5°C and net-zero emissions world and a just energy transition.
- Energy Access: Attract investment and build markets in remote locations through policies and regulation.
- Energy Transition: Accelerate and ensure an exit from fossil fuels through phasing out coal power generation by 2030 (EU/OECD)/ 2040 (rest of the world), while expressly starting a rapid decline of the oil & gas sector, including halting exploration for new resources.
- Just Transition: Integrate inclusively and transparently developed, 1.5-aligned and equitable national and local ‘just energy transition’ strategies into all policies, including long-term strategies and NDCs.
- Finance & Investment: Eliminate finance to all fossil fuels through public bilateral and multilateral channels, subsidies and private finance, while also addressing finance’s relationship with nature loss.
For further information, contact Mandy Jean Woods mwoods@wwfint.org
