Building and financing new coal-fired power plants is “irresponsible,” US climate envoy John Kerry said in Singapore on Friday, pointing to “greed” as the main obstacle to climate action. He also welcomed recent discussions with China on climate and called upcoming negotiations at COP28 in Dubai “absolutely critical.” The former head of US diplomacy declared that it was now “irresponsible to finance or build a coal-fired power plant anywhere in the world.” “Clean coal doesn’t exist. It’s not going to happen,” he added during a Bloomberg forum on the New Economy in Singapore.
At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, participating countries agreed to “phase down coal-generated power.” China produces just over half of the world’s coal supply and domestic production hit a new record last year, according to the UN. The future of fossil fuels, including coal, will be at the center of debates at COP28 which begins at the end of the month and aims to limit warming compared to the pre-industrial era to less than 2° C and preferably to 1 ,5. °C, in accordance with the objectives of the Paris agreement. On Wednesday, the UN warned that plans to expand oil, gas and coal production by major producing countries threaten the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
Conclusive discussions between John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart
John Kerry hosted his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, in California last weekend in preparation for COP28, ahead of a meeting scheduled next week between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the United States. Joined. On Thursday, China and the United States said their recent climate discussions were a success, a new sign of renewed dialogue between the two countries. John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua reached “a deal” on “emissions reduction and the direction we need to take and I’m hopeful about that,” the US climate envoy said.
One of the main challenges of the Dubai summit will be to define the contours of the so-called “loss and damage” fund, adopted in principle at COP27 and which is supposed to compensate the poorest countries for the consequences of climate change. The United States is not opposed to this fund, but demands that China contribute along with developed countries.
Source: BFM TV
