Home heating costs keep soaring yearly, creating a budget concern among American homeowners. In 2022, the National Energy Assistance Directors Association forecasted each home would pay an average of $1,328 for electricity in the winter of 2023 — a 17% increase from the previous year’s power consumption.
Because people need to stay warm and cozy indoors, the heating system operates for nearly 24 hours. While it’s necessary for survival, homeowners are getting more concerned about the rising energy costs and the impact of constantly running appliances on the environment.
So this brings the question, “Is it possible to keep warm and save on bills?” The answer is a big yes — and there are several options to do so. Here are the workarounds to keep your family warm during winter, minus the skyrocketing bills.
Maximize Passive Solar Heating
The easiest way to warm your space is to take advantage of the sun. Doing so doesn’t require any complicated upgrades or installations. All you have to do is open your windows during the day to allow warm air inside and improve circulation.
South-facing windows capture the most heat, so don’t block the sun by placing tall plants directly in front of them. In addition, run your ceiling fan counterclockwise direction — it circulates more warm air by pushing it down.
During the night, close the blinds to trap heat indoors. If you can, invest in thermal-lined curtains. They’re made of several layers of fabric and microfiber that provide a wall between your home and the cold outside air.
Insulate Various Home Areas
While it’s ideal to boost insulation from the roof to the foundation, such a move requires a considerable financial investment. The average cost of home insulation is between $3,000 and $10,000 for a 2,000-square-foot home.
Windows
If you lack the budget, simply insulating your doors and windows is energy-saving and pocket-friendly. Here are some hacks.
1. Put a Plastic Film or Bubble Wrap Over the Window
You can save up to $20 per window every winter by merely putting a film over your window. If you have five windows, you can put a potential extra $100 toward other expenses.
The process to do this is straightforward. Use tape to secure the plastic to the edge of the window frame. Then, fix the film to the window using a hair dryer.
2. Add Caulk and Weatherstripping
It’s easy to add caulk to your windows. Make sure to cut the tip of the tube to the same size as the gap between the wall and the frame. If you have double-hung windows, weatherstrip them with a V seal.
3. Install Cellular or Honeycomb Shades
This solution may be more expensive than the first two, but they can last for years. Installing honeycomb shades can save you as much as 15% of your yearly HVAC energy use. They just take a bit of measuring and drilling.
Doors
Weatherstripped doors can also prevent heat loss, warming up your space during winter. Follow these tips to insulate them.
1. Tighten the Screws and Fittings
Check if the doors’ fittings have come loose, which can happen with time. The door must hang appropriately in the frame.
2. Install Weatherproofing Strips and Seals
Self-adhesive strips are the easiest way to seal gaps between the door and the frame. Meanwhile, you can use a weather seal on the bottom of the door.
3. Hang Heavy Curtains on the Entry Doors
At the back of the entry doors, mount a curtain rail on top to hang thick curtains. You can take this down after winter. Remember to do the same for your garage door using rigid foam boards or other similar materials.
Use Smart Thermostats
Modern households are becoming technology-driven. By leveraging advancements, you can control energy use. A great example is a thermostat.
Smart thermostats are designed with sensors, algorithms and machine learning capabilities. When sensors detect someone entering the home, the thermostat automatically turns on and adjusts to the occupants’ optimal cooling or heating temperature.
With use, it can remember the best time to heat the home during winter, saving you 8% on heating and cooling bills or $50 per year. They’re also convenient, as you can control them remotely through an app and voice commands in some models.
Use Energy-Saving Mode on Appliances
Your choice of entertainment during winter — which may include a TV, game console or computer — can also add up on your bills. Hook them up to a battery saver or turn on low power mode when operating in this setting is possible. For instance, you can turn your laptop into power saver mode if you only do data entry tasks and don’t need the high-resolution video feature. By implementing this simple change, you can save up to $30 a year on energy bills.
Switch to LEDs
Lighting accounts for about 15% of your entire home energy use, which is considerable. Swapping to quality LED fixtures will result in huge savings since they use 75% less energy and last more than 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
Besides their low energy consumption, LEDs are more durable than traditional lighting. They’re made of epoxy lenses — not glass — increasing their resistance to breakage. More importantly, their longer life span makes them good for the environment, as they emit less carbon.
Layer up Indoors
Another simple, sustainable winter practice is to wear warm clothing at home to reduce the need for heating. Wearing thick winter clothes will preserve your body’s natural heat, decreasing your reliance on electricity to warm up. You’ll have to apply the same hack when sleeping — ensure you cover yourself with a layered blanket.
Enjoy a Warmer Winter at No Extra Cost
Power bills shoot up during winter due to the extensive use of the heating system. Fortunately, you can enjoy warm, cozy evenings without increasing your energy use by harnessing the sun’s power to heat your home, insulating any openings where heat can leak and switching to a smart thermostat. Save hundreds of dollars yearly using these simple tips to prepare your home for winter.
Renewable energy company Masdar has been making strides towards its sustainability goals by utilising the latest technology
As a global leader in renewable energy and green hydrogen, Masdar has pioneered commercially viable solutions in clean energy, sustainable real estate and clean technology in the UAE and around the world for over a decade.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the business is currently developing large-scale renewable energy initiatives, in a bid to drive the progression of clean technologies and further grow technology in the renewable energy sector. In doing so, Masdar is focused on creating new long-term revenue streams for the UAE.
How is Masdar utilizing technology to boost sustainable energy?
Committed to advancing clean-tech innovation, Masdar utilises technology to enhance the renewable energy sector.
Masdar hosts a range of wind farms in its offshore project portfolio, including sites in London Array and the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm in the United Kingdom. The business has also partnered with Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm.
Additionally, Masdar deploys solar photovoltaic (PV) technology in utility-scale and off-grid solar power plants and rooftop systems, including monocrystalline silicon panels, polycrystalline silicon panels, and thin-film panels.
Depending on the solar potential, geographical location, and financial requirements of a specific solar PV project, a suitable PV system is implemented to meet the project’s needs.
Likewise, concentrated solar power (CSP) systems – which use mirrors to focus a large area of sunlight onto much smaller areas – are used to convert concentrated light into heat, to drive a heat engine connected to an electrical power generator. CSP systems have become known as a promising solar power technology for large-scale power generation.
When CSP and thermal energy storage (TES) are used together, it is capable of producing constant power for up to 24 hours a day.
Masdar’s sustainability commitments
With the aim of investing and actively supporting the development of young people, Masdar strives to help support the sustainability leaders of tomorrow through its Youth 4 Sustainability (Y4S).
His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi invested in the initiative, ensuring it aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to bolster the nation’s sustainability efforts.
By 2030, Y4S aims to reach up to one million youth, creating awareness of the skills needed for future jobs in sustainability.
It’s hot these days. Here are the five common sense ways for home cooling with no AC.
Close your curtains and blinds during the day. This will help to keep the sun’s heat out of your home. If you don’t have curtains or blinds, you can use sheets or towels to cover your windows. Close your curtains and blinds during the day.
Run ceiling fans. Ceiling fans can help to circulate the air in your home, which can help to keep you cool. If you have a ceiling fan, ensure it is set to blow down.
Use fans to create a cross breeze. If you have windows on opposite sides of your home, you can open them to create a cross breeze. This will help to draw the cooler air in from outside and push the hot air out.
Take cool showers or baths. Taking a cool shower or bath can help to lower your body temperature. You can also use a wet towel to cool down your neck and forehead.
Cook outside and unplug devices. Cooking outside on a barbeque, camp stove, RV, or other appliance outside will help keep your house cooler. The heat generated by an oven or a stove can quickly counteract any other efforts you made throughout the day.
Here are some additional tips to keep your home cool without air conditioning:
Ventilate your home at night. If it’s cooler outside than it is inside, open your windows at night to let in the cool air and begin the next day with a nice cool house.
Plant trees around your home. Trees can help to shade your home and keep it cooler in the summer.
Use reflective insulation. Reflective insulation can help to reflect the sun’s heat away from your home.
Seal up any air leaks. Air leaks can let in hot air, so sealing them up is important.
By following these tips, you can keep your home cool without air conditioning and save money on your energy bills.
As humans try to fix the problems of climate change that they inevitably cause, they may be overlooking a very helpful, natural solution that could help restore ecosystems and capture and store carbon dioxide. Researchers from the Yale School of the Environment have found that robust populations of nine animal species could improve nature capture and carbon dioxide sequestration within ecosystems. They estimated that increasing the populations of African forest elephants, American bison, fish, gray wolves, musk oxen, sea otters, sharks, whales and wildebeest, among others, could lead to the capture of 6.41 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually. About 95 percent of the amount needed to be removed to ensure global warming remains below 1.5 degrees Celsius, a threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
The researchers found that in many cases where thriving populations of certain species were foraging, burrowing, and trampling, the ecosystem’s carbon storage increased by as much as 250 percent. This was a direct result of the dispersal of seeds and the growth of carbon-sequestering trees and plants. In Africa, every increase of 100 000 animals can increase carbon sequestered by 15 percent. Wildebeests consume carbon in the grasses they eat and then excrete it in their dung. The carbon is integrated into the soil by insects. Wildebeests also manage the grasses and help reduce the risk of wildfires.
Whales feed in deep water and release nutrients in their waste at shallower depths. This stimulates phytoplankton production, which is essential for storing carbon in the ocean. In the Amazon rainforests, tapirs are known to frequent areas that need reseeding. With a diet of herbs, shrubs, and leaves rich in nutrients, these animals leave trails of seeds in their waste and have been convenient in areas where lands have been burned.
For these solutions to be successful, the researchers recommend strengthening current animal recovery efforts. They also recommend reassessing the legislation, policies and funding to aid the conservation of these animals, many of whose numbers have been reduced by human intervention. They found that as animals become extinct in an ecosystem, their absence could transform habitats from carbon sinks to carbon sources – this makes protecting these species extremely important They also stress that it will be important to work closely with local communities to address the complex social issues that can affect conservation efforts This would involve including the local community into decision-making and governance processes and taking into account their knowledge, values and attitudes toward rewilded species.
This is just the beginning of important research that could help us reduce the impacts of climate change with a very natural solution. Protecting these animals, among many others, and their habitats can help shorten the time needed o reach our climate goals and help us live healthier lives for our populations and the planet.
Olaf Scholz will head a three-party coalition with broad plans for Germany’s transition to a green economy, under a deal to end 16 years of government led by Angela Merkel.
Almost two months after his Social Democrat party won federal elections, he will go into power with the Greens and business-friendly Free Democrats.
Climate protection forms a big part of the coalition deal.
The parties aim to phase out coal use by 2030, eight years ahead of schedule.
They will also seek to use 2% of German territory for wind power and focus on hydrogen-based energy too. By 2030, the parties want 80% of electricity to be sourced from renewable energy and 15 million electric cars to be on German roads.
There are also plans to legalise the sale of cannabis in licensed premises, with controls on the quality and distribution of the drug.
Germany is Europe’s biggest economy, so decisions taken by the new government will have a big effect on its neighbours.
In a news conference, Mr Scholz, 63, said “sovereignty of Europe is a cornerstone of our foreign policy”. He highlighted Germany’s friendship with France and partnership with the US.
He spoke of daring to make greater progress in a coalition “on equal terms”. He also pointed out that the three parties’ wider memberships still had to approve what has been labelled a “traffic-light” coalition, because of the parties’ red, yellow and green colours.
Olaf Scholz has served as vice chancellor since 2018 but is set to take over from Angela Merkel in the second week of December
He will only take over as chancellor from Mrs Merkel after a vote in the Bundestag, expected between 6 and 9 December.
Mr Scholz will enter office during a difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Germany one of several European countries where infections have skyrocketed to record levels in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, he said the coalition would ramp up vaccinations and consider making jabs compulsory for health staff and other essential worker.
“The situation is bleak,” Mr Scholz said. “The coronavirus is still not vanquished.”
‘Biggest challenge of our time’
The Social Democrats won the 26 September vote, ahead of Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrat alliance, which saw its worst-ever election result. The Greens achieved their best-ever result, under candidate Annalena Baerbock, who spoke of an ambitious alliance aiming to start a paradigm shift to transform the economy.
Describing the climate crisis as the biggest challenge of our time she said: “We can transform our economy so it becomes climate neutral. We have an agreement where climate neutrality is a common denominator.”
Ms Baerbock is expected to become foreign minister in the new government, while her Greens co-leader Robert Habeck gets the role of vice-chancellor as well as overseeing energy transition.
The new finance minister is set to be Christian Lindner, the Free Democrat leader whose party has a wide following of young voters. “The younger generation has given us this job to overcome the status quo of recent years,” he said.
What are their plans?
Making Germany climate neutral by 2045 is a big focus of the deal, entitled “Daring more progress”. Phasing out coal will take place “ideally” by 2030, and solar energy will become compulsory on the roofs of new commercial buildings and the general rule for new private homes. The 16 states will have to provide 2% of their area for wind power. The goal to phase out cars with internal combustion engines remains the EU’s target of 2035.
Minimum wages will rise to €12 (£10) an hour and another 400,000 new apartments will be built every year, a quarter of which will be social housing, to tackle Germany’s housing crisis.
The voting age will be lowered from 18 to 16, with plans to reform electoral law to bring an end to ever-increasing numbers of MPs. The new Bundestag has 735 seats. Changing the voting age for European elections requires a simple parliamentary majority, but for federal elections it would need two-thirds support.
Immigrants will be able to apply for German citizenship after five years. They will also be allowed dual citizenship under the coalition’s plans. This would transform the lives of millions of immigrants, many of who remain foreign nationals despite having lived in Germany for decades.
A Covid crisis team will be set up at the chancellery to focus on the pandemic. Mr Scholz said vaccination was the way out of the pandemic and in some care settings involving vulnerable people it should be made compulsory. Mr Scholz said the coalition had agreed to invest €1bn in bonuses for health workers.
On foreign policy, the parties said they wanted “to raise Europe’s strategic sovereignty”, which effectively means more independence on energy, security and other international issues. However, Germany’s relationship with the US and its membership of the Nato alliance will remain central to its security.
Germany’s no-new-debt rule was lifted during the pandemic as more funds were needed to address the crisis. But by 2023, the coalition says it wants to bring back the debt brake which is enshrined in Germany’s constitution.
A ban on doctors advertising that they carry out abortions will be lifted, to enable public information to be provided about the method without fear of prosecution.
It’s the latest flat-pack innovation – a biodegradable shelter that can be rapidly installed to provide refuge for native animals left exposed and vulnerable after a bushfire. Newly designed ‘habitat pods’, developed by Dr Alex Carthey of Macquarie University, are this week being deployed as part of a world-first Australian Wildlife Conservancy research project at North Head Sanctuary.
Intense bushfires can be deadly for wildlife, both during the blaze and in the aftermath. The artificial shelters have been designed to address the high mortality of wild animals that occurs in the weeks and months after a bushfire. Indirect impacts, such as the removal of food and shelter, make this a dangerous period for animals, and the threat is compounded by intense pressure from hungry predators. An estimated three billion vertebrate animals were impacted in the 2019-2020 Black Summer fires which burnt across an area of more than 12 million hectares in eastern Australia.
The pods are now part of a PhD project by ecologist and former Australian Wildlife Conservancy intern, Angela Raña, co-supervised by Sydney University. In 2020, Raña set out to study the role of small native mammals as pollinators of North Head Sanctuary’s diverse banksia scrub. However, a hazard reduction burn that jumped containment lines in October 2020 destroyed her experiments and prompted a rethink.
“I’d been studying and monitoring the plants and animals here for two years, but after the fire we mostly found charred skeletons in the ash. It was heartbreaking.” said Raña of the burn.
“With the thick undergrowth almost completely removed, any surviving animals could just be picked off by birds, foxes and cats.”
Raña’s project will now investigate the effectiveness of the habitat pods. Two hundred of the cardboard shelters are being deployed across parts of the headland that were impacted by the fire, for an experiment that will run for up to 12 months. It is hoped they will offer small animals short-term refuge from the elements and a place to hide from predators like feral cats, which have been shown to take advantage of easier hunting conditions post-fire.
The habitat pods themselves take the shape of a sturdy, six-sided pyramid made from folded cardboard, perforated with multiple small holes where animals can scamper in and out. Unlike the wire and shadecloth structures that have been used as post-fire shelters previously, the pods are light, easy to transport and set up, and entirely biodegradable.
Dr Carthey’s design was informed by her career researching predator-prey relationships and the key realisation that availability of habitat is a critical factor after a burn.
“The Black Summer fires acted as a wake-up call, and that got me thinking about what we could do to help wildlife survive,” Dr Carthey said. “I had some conversations with the team behind the Living Seawalls project (finalists of the inaugural Earthshot Prize), who are also at Macquarie University, and their designer Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab … we even experimented with 3D-printing some moulds for prototypes from recycled paper pulp, but in the end the folded design held up better in testing.”
North Head Sanctuary was chosen for the first ever real-world trial of the habitat pods. The headland is the site of an ambitious mammal reintroduction program run by Australian Wildlife Conservancy, working in partnership with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. Three small mammal species which were locally extinct on North Head have been restored since 2017: the Eastern Pygmy Possum (Cercartetus nanus), Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii), and Bush Rat (Rattus fuscipes). All three species have been recorded since last year’s blaze, and are likely contenders to use and benefit from the installed habitat pods.
The ecologist leading the reintroduction program, Dr Viyanna Leo, had input into the design of the habitat pods, established the research at North Head and co-supervises Raña’s research project.
“I think this work has huge potential,” Dr Leo said. “Large-scale bushfires are an ongoing concern for conservationists, especially as the climate heats up. The habitat pods could be an effective new tool for bushfire response that makes the difference between life and death for thousands of native animals.”
Australian Wildlife Conservancy is contracted by Sydney Harbour Federation Trust to deliver research and monitoring projects at North Head, with a particular focus on restoring small mammals. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service provided funding for the bushfire recovery research project.
For more information or to support Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s work restoring small native mammals to North Head, visit: www.australianwildlife.org.
As the world warms, there is an urgent need to find ways to keep people cool. This year, several deadly records have been set in South Asia: in New Delhi, the highest July temperature in 90 years was recorded, at 43.6 degrees Celsius. In April in Karachi, mercury levels hit 44C — the highest in 74 years.
Last week, the climate analysis coalition Climate Action Tracker published research showing that even if the new pledges made by the world’s governments in the first week of COP26 are achieved, global temperatures would rise by more than 2.4C this century. This coincided with the publication of research showing that with just a 2C global temperature rise, a billion people will be affected by extreme heat stress.
Even at 1.5C of global warming (the aspirational target set by the Paris Agreement), studies have found that deadly heat stress could become common across South Asia. Despite pledges to control greenhouse gas emissions, scientists say the world could reach the 1.5C threshold in a matter of years.
There is therefore a pressing need for sustainable cooling technologies and practices that are both low-carbon and accessible to the poorest people — who are also most at risk of heatwaves. And, crucially, there needs to be grassroots support for the proposed solutions.
“We cannot agree on global multilateral solutions if we don’t have local, appropriate implementation,” said Carlos Alvarado Quesada, president of Costa Rica, speaking in Glasgow on 4 November at an awards ceremony held by Ashden, a UK charity that supports solutions to the problems caused by climate change. “Implementation has to be done locally, respecting women, respecting indigenous communities [and] working together with them.”
This year’s Ashden Awards, attended by The Third Pole, recognised the importance of sustainable cooling. Many of the projects highlighted below are recipients of finance via its Fair Cooling Fund, which aims to scale up “frontline fair cooling solutions”.
1. Empowering women through low-cost solutions
Houses in poor neighbourhoods are usually built from cement, often with plastic covers or tin sheets to keep the rain out. These materials absorb heat, and create hot and stuffy living conditions. As urban populations increase and the impacts of global warming become more apparent, the problems will worsen — with knock-on impacts for sanitation and health. Women are particularly exposed, as their work often takes place within the home.
Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) is a not-for-profit organisation based in Ahmedabad. It works in 10 cities across India to boost communities’ resilience to heat stress. It provides women with advice on how to cool their homes in ways that are easily implemented and affordable: to date, more than 1,600 women have been educated about climate change and how to deal with some of its effects.
The techniques focus on passive cooling methods — preventing heat from building up within people’s homes. One of the quickest and easiest to implement is painting roofs and sun-facing walls with solar-reflective paint, which can reduce indoor temperatures by 4-5C. According to the Global Cool Cities Alliance, when sunlight hits a light-coloured roof, 80 per cent of its energy is reflected, compared with 5 per cent for a dark-coloured roof.
A second easy step MHT advises is to grow potted plants and creepers on roofs, which the charity says can reduce indoor temperatures by 2.5C. Vegetation has been proven to have a cooling effect through shading and evapotranspiration. MHT has helped about 200 houses in Bhopal and Ranchi to do this.
MHT also advises on and helps with renovating roofs. The replacement structures have vents and are made from recycled materials that let more light in without trapping heat. According to MHT, these can reduce temperatures by 6-7C. Finally, the charity trains women on principles for reducing heat stress. For example, said Aneri Nihalani, MHT’s communications officer, considering the orientation of a building during construction can help reduce overheating. Taking these steps can help with the family’s finances as well as their comfort, as they need less electricity to cool their homes.
Since 2014, the Mahila Housing Trust has helped more than 2,000 families to adopt heat-resilient measures. In recognition of its work, MHT won the 2021 Ashden Award for Cooling in Informal Settlements, which was presented at COP26.
2. Geothermal air-conditioning
The temperature on the surface of the Earth fluctuates constantly. But below the Earth’s surface there is little change in temperature. The founders of GeoAirCon, a company in Pakistan, have harnessed this stability to cool homes down.
In a GeoAirCon system, a ‘loop’ of underground pipes filled with fluid is installed. Geothermal heat pumps move heat around the system. During the summer, these pipes draw heated water from the building and move it underground. (In winter, the opposite principle applies to warm the house.)
According to the company, the temperature of the earth about 8-12 feet below the surface in Pakistan ranges from 21-25C. GeoAirCon systems can therefore cool buildings to this range — a comfortable temperature for the human body.
GeoAirCon says geothermal systems are twice as efficient in cooling as the most efficient conventional air-conditioning system. Cooling capacity is influenced heavily by the insulation of a building, M Hassamuddin, chief executive of GeoAirCon, told The Third Pole, so use of passive cooling best practices is also advised.
A system costs US$260-460 to install, and costs significantly less to run than a conventional air-conditioning unit, according to the company. Hassamuddin said that though more suited to houses with outdoor spaces, the technology can be installed in densely populated areas, with an area less than a metre wide required to make the hole for the underground pipes.
So far, GeoAirCon systems have been installed in 12 buildings in Pakistan. GeoAirCon was runner up for the 2021 Ashden Award for Cooling in Informal Settlements.
3. Low-impact cooling systems
In 2015, eight million air conditioners were installed in India. That number is expected to grow by 200-300 million in the next 20 years. But traditional air conditioning is expensive, electricity-intensive and often uses greenhouse gases like HFCs, exacerbating the climate crisis.
CBalance, an Indian consultancy that has also received financial support from Ashden, is working to reduce the reliance on conventional air-conditioning. It promotes passive cooling design and ventilation, fostering cooperation between architects and urban communities through its Fairconditioning programme. Hasan ul Banna Khan, an engineer working on Fairconditioning, told The Third Pole that in most cases a building can maintain a comfortable temperature using just passive design techniques coupled with sustainable cooling systems.
Having reduced the requirement for artificial cooling as much as possible, it also promotes technologies that reduce the energy and greenhouse gas intensity of cooling.
These include:
• Evaporative cooling, which uses evaporated water to cool air. Unlike conventional air conditioning, this does not use refrigeration, and therefore requires a lot less energy. In one building in Pune, this system reduces the need for conventional AC by 40 per cent.
• Radiant or structure cooling, where cool water is circulated through a building. The technology has been used in 73 large buildings in India, including the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune.
• Use of solar power to chill water.
• Air-conditioning units that are more energy-efficient and emit fewer HFCs.
4. Cool roofs programmes
Under the Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan (HAP) in India, a partnership between the municipal corporation, Indian Institute of Public Health and the Natural Resource Defence Council, more than 7,000 low-income households’ roofs have been painted white. It is estimated that such initiatives save an estimated 1,100 lives every year.
On a bigger scale, the Million Cool Roofs Challenge is a US$2 million philanthropic initiative to rapidly scale up the use of solar-reflective roofs as a form of sustainable cooling in developing countries suffering heat stress. Ten teams are awarded grants of US$100,000.
In 2019, one of the finalists was the team from Bangladesh, a country with high humidity levels and where ambient temperatures are already reaching 40C. The Bangladesh team painted the roofs of two factories and 105 other buildings in Dhaka, including a nursery and a school, with average indoor air temperatures falling by more than 7C.
Architects and builders can also look to traditional materials, techniques and designs, which have kept occupants cool for centuries. In one project in Rudrapur, north Bangladesh, students and architects worked with local architects and craftsmen to create houses for low-income families. Using mud and bamboo alongside manmade materials, they installed openings for cross-ventilation, insulation made from coconut fibre and glass windows.
Traditional stilt houses, such as those found in Assam, also use passive cooling. The structures enable cross-ventilation and shading. The walls, which are left unplastered, promote natural ventilation. Recently, projects have started to combine traditional models with materials to enhance their resilience to extreme weather.
The importance of policymakers and urban planning for sustainable cooling
As global emissions drive temperatures to new highs, there is an urgent need to roll out these methods and technologies more widely, at the same time as taking urgent action to limit global warming. Both Aneri Nihalani from MHT and GeoAirCon’s M Hassamuddin told The Third Pole that finance is the main obstacle to wider adoption of the solutions their organisations offer.
Hasan ul Banna Khan from the Fairconditioning programme said there is still a lack of awareness of the impacts of conventional air-conditioning, as well as “a dearth of motivated and skilled architects and engineers in the sustainable building design sector”.
Beyond that, urban planners and policymakers need to step in. In Vietnam, the Hanoi City Master Plan 2030 builds the growing need for sustainable urban cooling into the country’s commitment to be net zero by 2050. It aims to prevent heat build-up throughout the city, using ventilation corridors of green and blue space.
As South Asia warms and urbanises, cities will need to put similar heat adaptation and mitigation measures at the heart of their development plans.
This story was published with permission from The Third Pole.
Countries have gathered to negotiate the final details of a global bid to keep planetary warming under 1.5-2C.Olivia Wannan reports from Glasgow.
ANALYSIS: The world has agreed to ramp up climate action even further this decade, spend more on adaptation, and even for the first time, agree that (some) fossil fuels must go.
The two-week UN climate summit in Glasgow has ended in a joint compromise from nearly 200 countries, including on a number of outstanding sticky issues in the Paris Agreement “rulebook”. Developed countries have also acknowledged they have a legal and moral obligation to help vulnerable countries with the permanent loss and damage they are already suffering – though punted a solution to future meetings.
And a last-minute capitulation to phase down rather than phase out coal power cast a shadow over the Glasgow pact. In the end, the measure of success will depend on where history sets its benchmark.
If we use the lowest bar for success – whether there is more global climate action today than there was two weeks ago – then the 26th Conference of the Parties (or COP26) has achieved that.
The announcement that India had set a net-zero target was a pleasing development, even if the target date is 2070 and its short-term pledges remained unambitious. Indonesia’s and South Korea’s pledges to phase out coal-power was also good news. Canada and the US made large commitments to reduce fossil methane leaks (and, interestingly, agricultural emissions) and got nearly 100 other countries to sign up.
And while China declined to join the methane pledge, it did sign a deal with the US late in the second week, which included commitments to regulate methane leaks and limit deforestation.
Were governments ambitious enough?
If the point of success is 1.5 degrees Celsius, then the conference will not earn that accolade. Climate modellers have been tracking the plethora of commitments and coalitions launched during the meeting. Even on the basis that every single one will be met (a prospect many doubt), that path would hold warming to 1.8C. Scientists warn that the effects of climate change get vastly worse with even a fraction of a degree, so there is a lot of human suffering between 1.5C and 1.8C.
In addition, experts have also exposed the large gap between countries’ long-term goals and the short-term action they’re prepared to take.
Short-term goals are outlined in each country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (or NDC). These look out to 2030 – a point when carbon dioxide emissions would need to nearly halve, according to the world’s climate scientists, to keep 1.5C within reach. The path set by these and other pledges out to 2030 put the world on a path to 2.4C.
The host country, the UK, selected Alok Sharma to act as the president of the 26th Conference of the Parties (or COP26). JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES
With this in mind, countries that have not yet updated their NDC have been officially urged to submit tougher targets before COP27, to be held in Egypt. In fact, all countries are being requested to revisit their targets by the end of next year to ensure they align with 1.5C to 2C of warming (though this is caveated to take into account national circumstances).
It’s hoped big emitters such as China, Russia and Australia might then come to next year’s meeting with NDCs that could shift the global temperature dial even further still. Climate Change Minister James Shaw has already poured cold water on the idea of the New Zealand Government following this recommendation.
The onslaught of coalitions and alliances – on everything from methane and fossil fuel extraction to deforestation – announced during COP26 will supplement countries’ NDCs. There was plenty of criticism that these were voluntary, with no compliance. For example, if New Zealand fails to produce its intended methane savings of 10 per cent by 2030, the Global Methane Pledge won’t come after us in any way, beyond a public shaming.
But that’s a pattern set by the Paris Agreement itself. There are some seemingly mandatory features for the 197 countries signed up – such as reporting and deadlines for new targets. But even those aren’t well enforced: New Zealand missed the deadline to strengthen its NDC. We just scraped in before the start of COP26.
During a short speech on the final day, Shaw reflected on the shortcomings of the proposed agreement: “Is it enough to hold warming to 1.5C? I honestly can’t say that I think that it does. But we must never, ever give up,” he said.
“The text represents the least-worst outcome. The worst outcome would be to not agree [on] it, and keep talking through next year and deter action for yet another year.”
Countries in the naughty corner
Large greenhouse emitters China and Russia were called out for not showing up, literally and figuratively. Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russia president Vladimir Putin did not attend the leaders’ summit at the beginning of the talks, though negotiating teams for each country did attend to get the Paris Agreement “rulebook” and other outstanding matters settled.
Chinese president Xi Jinping did not attend COP26. He has not left China since the beginning of the pandemic (File photo) ANDY WONG/AP
By COP26, all 197 countries in the Paris Agreement were supposed to “ratchet” up their ambition. Russia updated its pledge last year, though it was deemed little better than its old one.
In 2020, Xinping announced a new pledge: that his country’s emissions would peak before 2030 and that China would reach net zero by 2060. This year, he formalised those commitments and promised to stop financing coal-fired power plants in other countries.
The Chinese leader is known to save his major climate announcements for UN general assembly events, rather than play to the COP timetable.
But similar criticism could be aimed at New Zealand, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern not attending the talks and – more importantly – taking few concrete steps during the two weeks.
The Government did increase its NDC, before the summit began. Ardern promised to save 149 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next decade.
Billed as a halving of emissions, Climate Action Tracker said – minus the creative maths – this was closer to a 22 per cent cut (a target now rated as “almost sufficient” though not our fair share).
And even that won’t require the country to take additional action domestically. (Thus, New Zealand retained Climate Action Tracker’s “Highly Insufficient” rating).
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not attend the Glasgow climate summit, citing her duties as the APEC host. (File photo) HAGEN HOPKINS/GETTY IMAGES
New Zealand is still planning to emit roughly the same amount of net emissions between now and 2030 as in the budgets proposed by the Climate Change Commission earlier this year. So now, the Government will just buy a few more carbon credits from other countries.
During the summit, New Zealand also signed up to a number of pledges without taking any major new steps. No new policies will be required for the Government to meet the Global Methane Pledge – because it’s a collective goal to reduce methane by 30 per cent, New Zealand can simply make the cut of 10 per cent it’s already obliged to under the Zero Carbon Act.
Similarly, our new membership in the pledge to end deforestation or in the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance required little extra.
In sum, the Government has done little but spent more money: committing to a larger carbon credit bill, and also increasing foreign aid towards mitigation and adaptation for developing nations – which it bumped up to $325 million each year.
Still, New Zealand behaved better than our trans-Tasman neighbour. Australia refused to boost its NDC, stayed far away from alliances cutting methane and coal, and initially attempted to block declarations on phasing out fossil fuels.
An emotional Mary Robinson, Chair of @TheElders and former President of Ireland slams leaders for not being in crisis mode and blames Saudi Arabia for blocking @skynews#COP26 Today will be very important. pic.twitter.com/BxEcXzGptg
Climate finance was a critical item on this year’s agenda. In return for a commitment to begin cutting emissions, developed countries promised – by 2020 – to deliver $100 billion to developing countries each year.
That deadline was missed, but the COP26 organisers hoped to pull a few additional commitments out of large economies. Early in the talks, the goal appeared to be within reach after the Japanese prime minister agreed to bump his country’s share up by $10b.
Yet with the US arguing their hands were tied by a requirement to get permission from Congress, there were few other large economies to come to the table. As the summit closed, this goal remained unmet.
Australia was a relative Scrooge: prime minister Scott Morrison doubled his contribution – to AU$2b (NZ$2.08b) – whereas New Zealand quadrupled its cash to NZ$1.3b.
As well as meeting the old goal, the talks turned to the next climate finance target.
There wasn’t much progress on setting a new goal for mitigation finance, apart from a call for discussions to begin. Finance in the form of loans – a bugbear of developing countries – wasn’t ruled out. On a brighter note, rich countries are urged to “at least” double the cash put towards adaptation.
Another request of developed countries was for the finance they were owed, under the legal precedent of loss and damage, for the permanent effects that climate change was already having on their lives. In the Pacific, this includes the loss of land to sea level rise and salinisation, plus the loss of GDP from extreme weather events that had become a permanent part of storm season.
Three philanthropies offer £3m to help set up a Glasgow Loss and Damage Finance Facility, nudging developed countries resisting calls to create one https://t.co/5gwTXfsLAG
Developed countries had contributed the lion’s share of the rise in greenhouse gas, and therefore – the argument goes – should have to stump up that share of the costs.
And while developing countries welcomed the help from a proposed network that would offer them technical assistance in dealing with these permanent issues, they also wanted cash for reparations. This was a point of principle for many. In the end, the countries decided that this scheme “will be provided with funds”, though specific numbers will need to be discussed.
Cyclones are coming with increased frequency to Fiji. So too are calls for rich, developed countries to provide reparations. NASA VIA AP
The biggest sticking points
The summit’s to-do list also included the finalisation of the Paris Agreement “rulebook”, which would specify how the landmark 2015 accord would actually work in practice.
A number of sticky issues – including how countries might create and trade carbon credits between one another and what information would be required to be submitted on a regular basis – had failed to be resolved at previous meetings.
One of the most contentious debates revolved around who could claim credit for carbon-cutting projects paid for by others. Many countries – including New Zealand – maintained that the global carbon maths must be balanced: if carbon credits were sold, then the purchasing country (or company) would adjust its emissions tally down and the host country must adjust its tally upwards.
But Brazil in particular argued that the host should, essentially, be able to have its climate cake and eat it.
To settle this issue, a proposal to create two types of carbon credits was put on the table. There would be higher-quality credits to be sold to other countries and airlines in an international pact. In addition, there would be a lesser type of credit, offered to private companies.
The host country of carbon cutting projects now holds the power to authorise higher-quality credits. When that happens, the balanced carbon maths (that New Zealand and others want) would be required.
It can also authorise lesser credits. While these would be paid for by someone else, the host country could claim the environmental benefits when it reported its progress towards its NDC.
Experts, including Environmental Defense Fund’s Kelley Kizzier, said this system appeared robust – though it may need keeping an eye on.
It’s debatable how many companies would want these lesser credits, since they may not be able to use carbon-neutral claims, for example.
However, activists were worried that giving host countries authorisation powers might allow them to flout safeguards, such as protections for human rights.
Another area of contention was on old carbon credits, dating back to the predecessor of the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol. Many Kyoto carbon-cutting projects had issued credits that remained available for sale.
Since president Jair Bolsonaro took office, Brazil began to fight for controversial climate provisions in the Paris rulebook. ERALDO PERES/AP
Climate activists hate this idea, criticising these old units as “zombie credits”.
But the host countries of some of these projects – notably Brazil – did not want to lose the value of the units. They argued that the schemes, which were reducing emissions, could collapse without funding.
In the talks, some countries signalled they’d be open to allowing these projects to transition into the new system, but wanted to restrict the number of “carryover credits” issued before 2020, when the Paris Agreement took effect.
A consensus was struck, allowing some old credits to enter the new system. There were a few limitations: the project had to have started after 2013, with the credits issued before 2021, and these could only be used towards a country’s first NDC. This is one compromise likely to receive heavy criticism from climate activists in the coming days.
The purchase of these old credits will weaken, or completely undermine, the NDC of any country that uses them.
Speaking earlier in the week, WWF carbon market expert Brad Schallert said it is risky to allow these credits, even if there’s no appetite for them. They “blow a hole” in the Paris Agreement, he added.
“If no one buys them, then we’d be okay,” he added. “But we have to assume the worst.”
A proposal to limit the number of carbon credits a country can use to achieve its NDC made it into the rulebook. New Zealand negotiators opposed this provision strongly – if set high enough, this could seriously mess with the Government’s plans to outsource up to 68 per cent of its carbon-cutting pledge.
But the work to set this limit won’t start until 2028, meaning it’s more likely to be an issue for the next NDC period, beyond 2030.
What climate activists fought for
Considering the failure of “Global North” countries to produce the $100b on time, one hot-button issue during the summit was a suggestion that every carbon trade should provide a 2 or 5 per cent cut of the proceeds to an adaptation fund, to help vulnerable communities.
It wasn’t just the percentage that negotiators were haggling over, but the types of trade involved. The Paris Agreement specifically links this idea to the international carbon market, so some negotiating teams (including New Zealand’s) thought this shouldn’t apply when countries trade directly with each other. But developing countries argued this would simply be a loophole, and wondered why anyone would design a carbon trading system with one type of credit undermining another.
This debate was also linked to a proposal to gift an “angel’s share” of all credits purchased to the Earth. If rich countries outsource their carbon goals to others, then this would give an additional boost, argued vulnerable countries (which are the keenest to see ambitious climate action). Shares of up to 30 per cent were suggested.
Under one COP26 proposal, a percentage of all carbon credits would be cancelled – and “gifted” to the good of the planet. NASA
In the end, countries settled on 5 per cent for adaptation, and 2 per cent for the planet, for any carbon credits sold on the international market.
But when countries trade credits directly between one another, they are only “strongly encouraged” to provide a share of the proceeds for adaptation and donate another cut to the Earth. This would mean a country such as New Zealand would be named and shamed for not doing this, but wouldn’t be breaking the Paris rules.
One of the passion projects of many New Zealand activists and attendees was to get protections for human rights and the rights of Indigenous people into the Paris rulebook. This would ensure that any projects using foreign funds to reduce carbon emissions would not come at the expense of vulnerable communities.
This was identified as a problem under the pre-2020 Kyoto credit system. The New Zealand negotiating team said it lobbied strongly for these rights to be included and the proposed rules to be as tough as could be.
This was successful: projects will need to demonstrate how they will protect these rights, both in the initial design of the scheme and in regular reports. The push to get an independent body to assess grievances was also successful.
How much should developed nations pay for damages due to climate change? It’s a major #COP26 flashpoint, and these @nyt charts dive into 170 years of CO2 emissions that show a huge rich/poor divide that’s not going away after Glasgow. https://t.co/TBH8xchx2R
A fight to get 197 countries to agree to some joint commitment calling time on fossil fuels was a major bone of contention at the 11th hour. To avoid annoying countries that export a lot of fossil fuels, the Paris Agreement doesn’t mention them at all.
As Saturday began, the proposed joint summary from all countries called for accelerated efforts to “phase out” both unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The US pushed to keep in the qualifiers “unabated” and “inefficient”, which weaken the proposal. It would, for example, allow coal power stations with carbon capture. The efficiency of subsidies is also a subjective assessment.
On the final day, China, India, Iran, Nigeria, South Africa and Venezuela voiced their opposition to this call.
India even argued that developing countries are “entitled” to use fossil fuels. The country’s negotiators proposed the watered-down “phase down” replace “phase out” related specifically to coal power.
This didn’t go down well: the Swiss negotiator pointed out the amendment would make it harder to reach 1.5C, and received a long round of applause. COP26 president Alok Sharma, who set out to “consign coal to history”, became visible upset when discussing the concession.
In the end, the wording was reluctantly passed – so the package of wider measures could be as well.
While hardly progressive, fossil fuels still took a small hit, and the call could pave the way for stronger language at future COPs.
Let's remember that despite this watered-down language, this is the first COP decision to mention coal (even "phase down"), and fossil fuel subsidies. #COP26
All in all, the sheer volume of competing interests means COP26 was unlikely to be capable of producing an agreement that any single person would prefer.
There will be a lot of interpretation of what it got wrong. But getting nearly 200 countries to collectively move, even on this existential issue, is a mammoth undertaking. For just a day or two, that needs to be celebrated.
The judgement of the world, particularly the young, was on negotiators’ minds. On Friday (Saturday NZ time), European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans held up a photo of his grandchild, and shared his concern about the young child’s future.
A day later, Tuvalu Climate Minister Seve Paeniu shared a photo of his three grandchildren. “Glasgow has made a promise to secure their future – that will be the best Christmas gift that I will present to them.”
The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow has been billed as a last chance to limit global warming to 1.5C.
But beyond the deals and photo opportunities, what are the key things countries need to do in order to tackle climate change?
1. Keep fossil fuels in the ground
Burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and especially coal, releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, trapping heat and raising global temperatures.
It’s an issue which has to be tackled at government level if temperature rises are to be limited to 1.5C – the level considered the gateway to dangerous climate change.
A recent UN report has suggested that reducing emissions of methane could make an important contribution to tackling the planetary emergency.
A substantial amount of methane is released from “flaring” – the burning of natural gas during oil extraction – and could be stopped with technical fixes. Finding better ways of disposing of rubbish is also important, because landfill sites are another big methane source.
At COP26, nearly 100 countries agreed to cut methane emissions, in a deal spearheaded by the US and the EU. The Global Methane Pledge aims to limit methane emissions by 30% compared with 2020 levels.
3. Switch to renewable energy
Electricity and heat generation make a greater contribution to global emissions than any economic sector.
Transforming the global energy system from one reliant on fossil fuels to one dominated by clean technology – known as decarbonisation – is critical for meeting current climate goals.
Wind and solar power will need to dominate the energy mix by 2050 if countries are to deliver on their net zero targets.
There are challenges, however.
Less wind means less electricity generated, but better battery technology could help us store surplus energy from renewables, ready to be released when needed.
4. Abandon petrol and diesel
We’ll also need to change the way we power the vehicles we use to get around on land, sea and in the air.
Ditching petrol and diesel cars and switching to electric vehicles will be critical.
Lorries and buses could be powered by hydrogen fuel, ideally produced using renewable energy.
And scientists are working on new, cleaner fuels for aircraft, although campaigners are also urging people to reduce the number of flights they take.
5. Plant more trees
A UN report in 2018 said that, to have a realistic chance of keeping the global temperature rise under 1.5C, we’ll have to remove CO2 from the air.
Forests are excellent at soaking it up from the atmosphere – one reason why campaigners and scientists emphasise the need to protect the natural world by reducing deforestation.
Programmes of mass tree-planting are seen as a way of offsetting CO2 emissions.
Trees are likely to be important as countries wrestle with their net zero targets, because once emissions have been reduced as much as possible, remaining emissions could be “cancelled out” by carbon sinks such as forests.
6. Remove greenhouse gases from the air
Emerging technologies that artificially remove CO2 from the atmosphere, or stop it being released in the first place, could play a role.
A number of direct-air capture facilities are being developed, including plants built by Carbon Engineering in Texas and Climeworks in Switzerland. They work by using huge fans to push air through a chemical filter that absorbs CO2.
Another method is carbon capture and storage, which captures emissions at “point sources” where they are produced, such as at coal-fired power plants. The CO2 is then buried deep underground.
However, the technology is expensive – and controversial, because it is seen by critics as helping perpetuate a reliance on fossil fuels.
7. Give financial aid to help poorer countries
At the Copenhagen COP summit in 2009, rich countries pledged to provide $100bn (£74.6bn) in financing by 2020, designed to help developing countries fight and adapt to climate change.
That target date has not been met, although the UK government, as holders of the COP presidency, recently outlined a plan for putting the funding in place by 2023.
Many coal-dependent countries are facing severe energy shortages that jeopardise their recovery from Covid and disproportionately affect the poor. These factors stop them moving away from polluting industries.
Some experts believe poorer nations will need continuing financial support to help them move towards greener energy. For instance, the US, EU and UK recently provided $8.5bn to help South Africa phase out coal use.
China and the US announced a surprise plan to work together on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the crucial next decade, in a strong boost to the Cop26 summit, as negotiators wrangled over a draft outcome.
The world’s two biggest emitters had been trading insults for the first week of the conference, but on Wednesday evening unveiled a joint declaration that would see the world’s two biggest economies cooperate closely on the emissions cuts scientists say are needed in the next 10 years to stay within 1.5C.
The remarkable turnaround came as a surprise to the UK hosts, and will send a strong signal to the 190-plus other countries at the talks. China and the US will work together on some key specific areas, such as cutting methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – and emissions from transport, energy and industry.
“Both sides recognise that there is a gap between the current effort and the Paris agreement goals, so we will jointly strengthen our Paris efforts and cooperation … to accelerate a green and low carbon transition,” said Xie Zhenhua, China’s head of delegation. “Climate change is becoming an increasingly urgent challenge. We hope this joint declaration will help to achieve success at Cop26.”
Speaking at a virtual business conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, President Xi Jinping did not mention the deal directly but said “all of us can embark on a path of green, low-carbon sustainable development”.
“Together, we can usher in a future of green development,” he said.
John Kerry said: “The two largest economies in the world have agreed to work together on emissions in this decisive decade.
“This is a roadmap for our countries and future collaboration. China and the US have no shortage of differences. But cooperation is the only way to get this job done. This is about science, about physics.”
He told the conference: “This declaration is a step that we can build on to close the gap [between the emissions cuts set out so far and those needed]. Every step matters. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
Kerry compared the cooperation with China with the agreements by the US to reduce nuclear weapon arsenals in the cold war. “You have to look beyond differences sometimes to find a way forward.”
Just saw John Kerry sitting down with Xie Zhenhua. Fingers crossed that chief negotiators of worlds two biggest emitters 🇨🇳🇺🇸 can work together and nudge the world closer to 1.5C climate target.
The China-US Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s came despite growing political tensions between the two powers, which had been reflected in the climate talks. In his parting shot at the conference, Joe Biden on Tuesday slammed China’s president, Xi Jinping, for “not showing up”. After that, Xie took a swipe at the US in an interview with the Guardian, saying: “We are not like some countries who withdrew from the Paris agreement after entering into talks.”
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, welcomed the agreement: “Tackling the climate crisis requires international cooperation and solidarity, and this is an important step in the right direction.”
The announcement followed a call by developing countries for rich nations to come forward with more financial help for vulnerable countries, saying a new draft outcome for the talks was too weak in this regard.
The draft text, published early on Wednesday morning by the UK as president of the talks, set out the probable outcome of the Cop26 talks, including a potential requirement for countries to return to the negotiating table next year to beef up their national plans on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The text also set out the scientific case for limiting global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and expressed “alarm” that emissions were far higher than the levels needed to stay within safe temperature thresholds.
But poor countries said the text needed more emphasis on climate finance, to help them cut carbon and cope with the impacts of climate breakdown.
Aubrey Webson, chair of the Alliance of Small Islands States, which represents 37 of the most at-risk countries, said: “The text provides a basis for moving forward but it needs to be strengthened in key areas in order to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly on finance. We won’t get the ambition on emissions we need for 1.5C if we don’t scale up the provision of finance, and this includes the long overdue recognition of a separate and additional component for loss and damage.”
He added that the language was too weak: “‘Urging’, ‘calling’, ‘encouraging’ and ‘inviting’ is not the decisive language that this moment calls for. We have limited time left in the Cop to get this right and send a clear message to our children, and the most vulnerable communities, that we hear you and we are taking this crisis seriously.”
Bruce Bilimon, minister of health for the Marshall Islands, part of the High Ambition Coalition made up of developed and developing countries, added: “We need a comprehensive Glasgow package to build and reinforce trust between developed and developing states.”
Other developing countries told the Guardian that clearer commitments were needed to force countries to ratchet up their emissions cuts.
The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, made a flying visit to Glasgow on Wednesday, where he warned delegates that failure to reach an effective agreement would bring an “immense” and well-deserved backlash from around the globe.
Johnson called for “a determined push to get us over the line” – and said some countries had not done enough to achieve this. Leaders not in Glasgow needed to “pick up the phone to their teams here and give them the negotiating margin, give them the space they need in which to manoeuvre and get this done”, he said.
Johnson criticised – but did not name – some countries for “conspicuously patting themselves on the back” for signing up to the Paris climate accord but doing too little at Cop.
“The world will find it absolutely incomprehensible if we fail to deliver [a good outcome]. And the backlash from people will be immense and it will be long-lasting, and frankly we will deserve their criticism and their opprobrium.”
