The Glasgow COP26 has officially ended yesterday and France has distinguished itself by signing four major climate change pledges. Yet, negotiations go on as they have not reached a consensus. While waiting for a joint statement, Paris has already decided to join agreements and initiatives to be more effective as a whole.
One of the first commitments was to stop deforestation by 2030, made by 180 countries. €16.5 billion are to be given to protect and restore forests. On the same day, about a hundred of the nations releasing over 40% of the world emissions of methane have promised to cut greenhouse gas effect emissions by 30% by 2030.
On Thursday November 11, France has committed to cut oil and gas production. An international coalition has been made to speed up the gradual end to the use of fossil fuels and is expected to specify “practices enabling help for governments to respect their commitments in favor of gradual elimination of the production of oil and gas”. This group has been joined by about a dozen countries (and regions) including Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Italy, Ireland, Greenland, New-Zealand, Wales, Portugal, Quebec, Sweden and California.
On the last day, Paris joined the coalition of countries committing with putting an end by 2022 to the financing of foreign fossil fuel energy production projects that do not use carbon-capture techniques. There was already an agreement about stopping supporting foreign coal plant projects, but this is also about gas and oil. This coalition is expected to redirect the money for these investments into renewable energy, up to $15 billion.
