Momentum at the UN climate talks in Lima, Peru is shifting strongly in favour of a low-carbon transition, with negotiators and civil society representatives “speaking about the potential for 100% renewable energy,” 350.org reported Friday.
“The rhetoric about the need to get off fossil fuels has never been stronger,” Henn notes. “On Wednesday, developing countries endorsed the goal of bringing greenhouse gas emissions to zero. UN Climate Secretary Christiana Figueres is openly talking about the need to completely phase out emissions.”
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The response from fossil fuel interests is sounding a tad desperate, with the International Emissions Trading Association promoting a series of side events during the 12-day summit. Today’s highlight: The preposterously-titled Why Divest from Fossil Fuels When a Future with Low-Emission Fossil Energy Use is Already a Reality?, hosted by the Global CCS [Carbon Capture and Sequestration] Institute and featuring speakers from Shell and the World Coal Association.
Civil society groups “are hosting a protest on Monday morning, just before the panel, to shine a spotlight on the fossil fuel industry’s terrible history in Latin America and call for industry lobbyists to be banned from the talks,” Henn writes. “While the World Health Organization has banned tobacco industry lobbyists from taking part in tobacco control talks, the climate process has no such protections.”
