we summarize for you all the commitments already made by States and companies – L’Express

A COP announced by the organizing country as the largest ever organized, with 80,000 registered participants and nearly 200 countries represented. This ambition is embodied this Saturday by the numerous announcements on energy and the protection of nature. Voluntary and virtuous commitments, but which remain non-binding. L’Express takes stock.

If the majority of commitments this Saturday concern energy, two participating countries have announced new aid for developing countries. These states are on the front line in the fight against global warming: they are often more affected by its consequences and have less financial capacity to deal with them.

In this logic, French President Emmanuel Macron announced two partnerships: aid of 100 million euros to Papua New Guinea and 50 million to the Republic of Congo (or Congo-Brazzaville). These agreements aim to help these countries protect their forests so that they continue to absorb and store CO2, the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. A third partnership providing 60 million euros for the Democratic Republic of Congo (or Congo-Kinshasa) would also be under discussion, according to the head of state.

Along the same lines, the Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, also announced a contribution of three billion dollars to the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries invest to limit global warming.

For the rest, COP participants focused on our energy production and consumption models. With a major announcement: 118 countries, more than the majority of nations present in Dubai, wish to triple their renewable energy capacities by 2030, whether solar, wind, or even hydroelectricity. This objective aims to reach 11,000 gigawatts (GW) generated by this time, compared to around 3,400 GW today. Countries also promised to double the annual rate of progress in energy efficiency, from 2% to 4%, again by 2030.

This announcement, prepared for months and already supported by the G20 countries, remains, at this stage, non-binding. Moreover, the list provided by the presidency of COP28 does not include the largest producing or consuming countries of fossil fuels: Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela , Kuwait and Qatar.

This Saturday was also dedicated to nuclear power, a source of electricity considered by many countries as a virtuous alternative to fossil fuels. Around twenty countries have called for tripling nuclear energy capacities in the world by 2050, compared to 2020. The list is shorter than for renewable energies, but it includes France, the United States , Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

Again, the declaration is not binding and does not include China or Russia, the world’s leading builders of nuclear power plants. Likewise, this choice is criticized by certain environmental defenders concerning the risks of accidents, the question of waste in the very long term or even the high costs of the atom.

Some players have also announced commitments to curb the consumption of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, and in particular CO2. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that his country would no longer build “new coal-fired power plants without capturing CO2” from the air.

Above all, 50 oil and gas companies representing 40% of global production announced the signing of an “oil and gas decarbonization charter”. These large oil groups first committed to no longer emitting CO2 through their extraction or production operations, “in 2050 or before”. A measure announced as a victory by the president of COP28, also boss of the Emirati oil company Adnoc… But which does not include emissions from the combustion of oil and gas sold to their customers. That is to say the overwhelming majority of carbon emissions linked to the oil sector. An aspect criticized by various NGOs.

The charter of the 50 oil groups also commits to reducing emissions of the second greenhouse gas having contributed the most to global warming: methane. This natural gas escapes from gas pipelines, coal mines, our gas stoves and even the stomachs of cows. The oil and gas giants are therefore aiming for a “near zero” methane emissions target by 2030. For the same horizon, these multinationals have also committed to putting an end to “routine gas flaring”. An extremely polluting practice which consists of burning their excess gases in the atmosphere.

Shortly before this announcement, the United States Environmental Protection Agency also assured that it would eliminate flaring at new installations, and would require companies in the sector to monitor and limit leaks. This plan aims to reduce emissions from the American sector by 80% between 2024 and 2038, according to the federal agency.

Despite these numerous announcements, the commitments announced this Saturday ultimately remain non-binding or incomplete. For Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa think tank, COP28 “is neither a trade show nor a press conference”. This observer recalls that the final objective remains “an agreement on a date for the gradual elimination of fossil fuels”.

And negotiations on the issue are already slipping: a first version of this agreement was debated until late Friday evening, with a standoff over the objective to be formulated, according to a participant with AFP. Some countries such as Saudi Arabia called for the massive deployment of carbon capture techniques, while the European Union defended the exit from fossil fuels. There are ten days left to find common ground.