It started with an accident in Dubai – E24

DUBAI (E24/VG): The Climate Summit started with a bang. The long-awaited loss and damage fund arrived on the first day.

It has created a lot of confidence among tens of thousands of participants, but not all are happy.

This year, an important choice will surely be made on the final deal – what will the world do with oil?

According to Glenn Peters, a climate scientist at Cicero, this is proving to be an inescapable issue if the world is to tackle its emissions.

A recent report from Global Carbon Budget Solar and wind power shows are developing faster than expected. Nevertheless, the emission of greenhouse gases in the world continues to increase this year as well.

– Emissions must now fall faster than we thought, because we are not doing enough. If we had acted 30 years ago, it would have been easy to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, but since we are starting at zero today, it will be a huge challenge, says Peters.

He is one of many Norwegian researchers who have contributed to an international collaboration that improves its status every year.

– Did the world postpone action for another year?

– Yes, now it’s about how quickly we get to net zero emissions.

We want climate justice

Renewable electricity has increased dramatically in countries like China and India, but so have coal, oil and gas. Emissions have increased by 1 percent this year.

– We need to balance the scales, say Roseanne Jandisil Howe and Mapona Mohabi.

They come from the small African countries of Eswatini and Lesotho and are fighting for climate justice at this year’s Climate Summit.

– Africa hardly contributes to climate change, but this is beyond us. We need action and funding to adapt to the coming changes.

Reginald Harry Grant from Ghana is working on Getting African Countries Right: Investments in Green Solutions.

– Africa is a region that can change the world for the better, he says.

– We have minerals for conversion, a young population and untouched land that can be used for solar power and agriculture, Grant continues.

Lithuanian-born Ana Nakvalovite attends to share research findings. He works at the University of Oxford in England and advises national banks on how they can invest better.

This year she noticed one thing in particular:

– There is more private business here this year. It’s nice, but at the same time it makes a lot of noise, she says.

Oil is high on the agenda

This can be a lucky year for many reasons. This year, all countries have to report what they have managed so far.

All countries must eventually sign an agreement, and this year’s agreement will make it even more concrete:

How will the world get rid of the biggest source of emissions of oil, coal and gas?

Allegations that the negotiations were biased ahead of this year’s climate summit are fierce. The meeting is chaired by the emirate’s Minister of Industry Sultan Al Jaber, the day-to-day chairman of one of the world’s largest oil companies. According to information leaked to the BBC, the country plans to use the climate summit To undertake oil contracts.

Additionally, real talks on phasing out oil, led by a foreign minister from a country that wants new oil and gas discoveries:

Norway.

Together with Singapore’s delegation, Espen Barth Eide (Ap) will help countries agree on what the final agreement should contain. Norway wants the deal to mean only phasing out “unclean” oil and gas, and leaving the door open to fossil energy where harmful greenhouse gases are separated and stored.

Glenn Peters of the Global Carbon Project cautions against thinking that giving the world more renewable energy will reduce emissions.

– There is no correlation that fossil energy will disappear if more renewable energy is available. That is not what is happening. Consumption of fossil energy will not decrease without policies to limit it.

Protection of forests in fighting problems

In Dubai, there are several hundred employees from the oil and gas industry. Their participation inspires activists, who stage demonstrations against what they call the “oil lobby”.

While a conflict develops inside and outside the meeting rooms, others choose to keep their eyes on their fields.

Coral scientist Dr. Shaker Alhezeem from Kuwait.

– I am here to share solutions.

When Alhezeem was asked what he thought of the oil debate at the climate summit, he replied that he was “focusing on his area”.

If emissions are to come down quickly, there are many other pieces of the puzzle.

Tashka and Laura Soriano de Yavanava are fighting to protect a patch of rainforest in northern Brazil. Their community protects 200,000 hectares of forest.

– We will get companies to work directly with us. Laura says the billions the officials are talking about are not reaching us.

They summit that more people care about their forests—which contributes to a more stable climate and keeps greenhouse gas emissions on the ground.

Pei Chi Wong from Singapore supports their struggle. She works to track companies and their relationships with deforestation. She sees that many countries are now interested in this.

– Financial institutions want to know if their companies are involved in trading or producing products that contribute to deforestation. He says there is no habitable planet without forests.

Allyne Andrade e Silva, a human rights activist from the south of Brazil, fights for equality and climate justice. She believes her two struggles go hand in hand.

– We cannot build a future without equality. It is important to listen to grassroots and women in this important struggle for the future.