All posts tagged: Paris Agreement


Africa’s tripartite condition requires careful considerations on spending Official Development Assistance

Africa is facing a tripartite problem that often require access to foreign funds. But Official Development Assistance flows from developed to developing often come with a caveat – donors often express how their concessional loans must be spent, such as on a specific climate project. But such preference sometimes conflicts with national priorities. This often leaves politicians choices between implementing policies for international agreements, such as for the Paris Accord, which requires climate mitigation and adaptation projects, and fostering economic and social development. Considering the centrality of energy in the history of human development, Michael Davies-Venn argues that capitalizing on the continent’s unique opportunities for renewable energies provides an added benefit by complementing decarbonization gains being made in other regions, but that this requires coordination between donors and recipients.

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The New Energy Charter Treaty in Light of The Climate Emergency 

After 2 years and 15 negotiation rounds, on June 24, 2022, the Contracting Parties of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) finaly reached an agreement in principle on a reform of the Treaty. The deal, the detailed text of which remains confidential, contains a package of amendments and changes meant to modernise the Treaty’s investment provisions and bring it in line with the Paris Agreement (the “new ECT”). Crucially, this new ECT will grant existing fossil fuel investments in the European Union and the United Kingdom an additional 10 years of investment protection and even maintain, for now, indefinite protection in other Contracting Parties. It is therefore clearly not aligned with the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels that science shows is required to avoid climate catastrophe, or consistent with the International Energy Agency’s (“IEA”) widely recognised scenario to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Amandine Van den Berghe, Lukas Schaugg and Helionor de Anzizu have the details. This blog was originally published on Jus Mundi.

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GFANZ must tighten the screw on fossil fuel expansion

Pressure on the fossil fuel industry to stop developing new projects and to start to phase out the production of coal, oil and gas is steadily increasing. On May 18, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated unequivocally that “Fossil fuels are a dead end — environmentally and economically. […] We must end fossil fuel pollution and accelerate the renewable energy transition, before we incinerate our only home.” Global finance, and especially the leadership of the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero (GFANZ), needs to follow Guterres’ lead, stop waffling on fossil fuels and send a clear message to the industry that its days are numbered. Paddy McCully gives a broader look. This article was originally published in Reclaim Finance.

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Setting sail renewable energy technologies from Berlin to Bamako and beyond

In an earlier series on articles of the Paris Agreement, Michael Davies-Venn analysed policy options to implement Article 6. Focus here is on Article 10, which provides a technology development and transfer framework premised on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Technology Mechanism. Developed countries promised to “promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies” to particularly developing countries, to help reduce global emissions. But what does this actually mean and how does it tangibly translate in developing countries in dire need of such technologies?

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Bonn becomes the first city in Germany, second in EU to endorse the Fossil Fuel Treaty

On the eve of the Paris Agreement’s anniversary, the United Nations FCCC city and former German Capital of Bonn calls for international cooperation to phase-out oil, fossil gas and coal. A bold new initiative, the global Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation treaty is modeled after the UN’s treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons. Last year Climate Breakthrough Award winner, Tzeporah Berman joined with other climate and energy activists to create this new tactic to organize local, state and regional governments to publically call for adoption.  Endorsed by tens of thousands of individuals, hundreds of NGOs and a growing list of cities, Bonn citizen, lead blogger and Global Energy Transition podcaster, Michael Buchsbaum shares this good news.

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Scotland’s Independence Bid Can Be Green

The Scottish government, pushed hard by environmentalists, has finally announced that it is unlikely to pursue oil exploration or extraction in the North Sea’s Cambo fields. This, together with the Green Party’s entrance into a government with the Scottish National Party (SNP), burnishes its climate credentials. But, ultimately, it must exit oil production entirely. From Edinburgh, Scotland, Paul Hockenos has the story.

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