NET ZERO
“ This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to diversify their economic structures to adapt to the new global energy economy that is emerging ”
FATIH BIROL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR , IEA
Israel , for instance , announced last week that it will launch a fourth exploration for natural gas in its territorial waters despite its recent announcement on December 15 to halt all searches for natural gases during 2022 and to focus on renewable energies instead . Energy Minister Karin Elharrar made no comment on that initial plan and instead revealed that the country has begun to discuss its crisis handling strategies with its international partners , especially from Europe , the US and Egypt .
Fatih Birol , the executive director of IEA , revealed that the world was far off track from achieving its shared energy and climate goals even before the invasion . Welcoming the new normal , global CO2 emissions reached an all-time high in 2021 .
“ Positive steps were taken at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November … but we are not yet seeing the massive level of policy and investment efforts worldwide that would be needed to move us onto a net-zero pathway ,” Birol wrote in a recent IEA commentary .
Investment in clean energy technologies has remained far below the levels that are needed to bring emissions down to net zero by mid-century – a critical but formidable challenge that the world needs to overcome if it is to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C .”
Birol shared his concern that rushing back to exploratory projects for oil , gas and coal might as well drive climate catastrophe to arrive even sooner , urging countries to find alternatives that won ’ t damage the longterm prospects of climate actions been done over the years .
In addition , recent investigations by the Guardian revealed that approximately 200 of those projects are already in planning , and some have even started to be in operation . Each of these projects is calculated to produce at least 1bn tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over their lifetimes ,
102 July 2022