Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to rise by less than 1% this year as renewables and EVs take off in Europe
The world is finally poised to cut down its carbon emissions by 40% by 2050, to reach a level not seen for five centuries, after decades of work by hundreds of scientists, researchers, advocates and politicians.
But as they did with the Green New Deal – Congress passed the most far-reaching climate policy bill in US history – climate negotiators also have to deal with a new threat: China.
While the Trump administration is now trying to undo an Obama-era climate agreement with China, this week, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, representatives from seven world leaders will meet in Beijing, China with the goal of reaching an agreement on the Paris Agreement within this year.
The goal is to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change by almost two thirds by 2030 compared to the 1990 baseline.
According to the latest estimates from UN climate negotiators, the total cost of meeting the goal is estimated to exceed $30 trillion.
As climate talks in Bonn continue, here is how the world as a whole and the EU are poised to move towards a global transition to a climate neutral, sustainable and energy-secure energy system by 2050.
In the face of the new challenge, it is likely that the 2020 elections will be fought on different principles.
Some, like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, will try to prevent or overturn the US deal that puts the US on track with the world in getting rid of greenhouse gas emissions, and will fight an international agreement that puts the US back on track with the world in decarbonising the energy market.
Others, like Emmanuel Macron, will try to achieve a new deal that combines the US and China, as he did with the European Commission agreement on which France is negotiating a new climate pact.
Germany’s Green Party is leading the talks on a new climate agreement, but is not a formal party at the Climate Negotiations.
The negotiations on the EU-China phase two deal began in December