Colombia hosts first meeting to quit fossil fuels as energy crisis worsens

{"text":[[{"start":10.35,"text":"More than 50 countries including Germany, the UK, Brazil, Nigeria and Australia are due to gather in Colombia this week for the first international meeting dedicated to phasing out fossil fuels, despite the absence of the world’s top three carbon-emitting nations. "}],[{"start":26.2,"text":"Some officials attending the talks, taking place against the backdrop of the energy crisis driven by the Middle East war, say they want to discuss trade deals that would give preferential treatment to those taking action to end the use of fossil fuels and craft national roadmaps guiding a shift away from oil, gas and coal use."}],[{"start":45.849999999999994,"text":"Irene Veléz Torres, environment minister of Colombia, which is co-hosting the event with the Netherlands, said the talks would be “difficult”, but the energy crisis had made them more relevant. "}],[{"start":57.099999999999994,"text":"The crisis has prompted countries including China, the US and India — the top three emitters contributing some 40 per cent of global emissions — to boost coal power while others have argued for new renewable energy. "}],[{"start":69.19999999999999,"text":"“Even though [countries] have to solve the problem of energy security in the immediate time with whatever sources are available, [nations attending the summit] are also very conscious of the fact that they have to transition away and they have to do it as soon as possible,” the minister said."}],[{"start":83.54999999999998,"text":"Ireland’s former president, Mary Robinson, a member of the Elders group of leaders working for human rights, said the second global energy shock in four years was a clear sign of the need for “a committee of doers” that want to move faster on ushering out fossil fuels."}],[{"start":98.24999999999999,"text":"Still, a draft energy transition roadmap for Colombia, prepared by Colombian officials and UK Climate Change Committee members, showed the knotty task facing those countries in Santa Marta. "}],[{"start":109.34999999999998,"text":"The analysis suggests fossil fuel demand could be cut by 90 per cent between 2026 and 2050. But this would require more than $10bn of upfront annual investment in the early years before net savings for the Colombian economy began in the early 2040s. By the time the transition ended, though, there would be more than $20bn of annual net economic benefits, said co-author Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds."}],[{"start":138.99999999999997,"text":"Work on how to make the transition effective is the focus of a new international panel of climate experts and economists launched in Santa Marta on Friday. The need for it was evident as climate risks were rising faster than expected, said one of its conveners, Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. "}],[{"start":160.89999999999998,"text":"Almost 200 countries agreed at the UN COP28 climate summit in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels by 2050, but limited progress has been made since with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia blocking discussions in official UN negotiations. Efforts to agree on a “net zero framework” for shipping imploded last year under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and others, with further talks in London due this week. "}],[{"start":188.34999999999997,"text":"The meeting in Colombia, which is taking place outside the official UN process, is an attempt to circumvent such tactics."}],[{"start":196.09999999999997,"text":"Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary at the environment ministry in Germany, Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s climate commissioner, and Rachel Kyte, the UK’s climate envoy, are among those due to attend the talks in Colombia, as are representatives from fossil-fuel-producing countries including Brazil, Canada and Norway. "}],[{"start":215.89999999999998,"text":"Veléz Torres said: “We don’t want to sit with whoever is a denialist of climate change or whoever doesn’t agree with the fact that we have to start phasing out extraction and consumption of fossil fuels.”"}],[{"start":227.95,"text":"Jules Kortenhorst, co-chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, a think-tank that will present two papers at the conference, said it was “fundamental to talk” about phasing out both demand and supply. ETC research found about 60-70 per cent of fossil fuel demand could be phased out by 2050 through electrification."}],[{"start":248.29999999999998,"text":"Veléz Torres said she did not expect the conference “to solve the whole riddle”, but hoped the event would end with “sense of a process, a sense of commitment, a sense of a coalition of the willing that is not only meeting once but continuing a dialogue”."}],[{"start":264.4,"text":"“We know we need to get rid of [fossil fuel dependence] as soon as possible because we know it’s the most responsible not only with the environment but also with our energy sovereignty,” she said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":284.75,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777254306_1096.mp3"}