Birol: 1.5 degrees target ‘is not dead’
The International Energy Agency’s executive director stresses at the UN PRI conference that the Paris Agreement is not impossible to achieve.
The executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that he “doesn’t buy” recent criticism that the “1.5-degrees pledge is dead”.
Fatih Birol, speaking at the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment conference in Barcelona, responded to recent criticism from scientists and journalists that it will be impossible to meet the 1.5°C pledge outlined in the Paris Agreement.
He said: “A range of people from scientists to journalists say that the ‘1.5 degrees [target] is dead’. I don’t buy it; I don’t buy it.
“It is wrong to say 1.5 degrees is dead.”
Birol highlighted that even though meeting the target will be “difficult”, the shift towards accelerating the energy transition as a result of the war in Ukraine will contribute significantly to achieving the goal.
In the same session, Nathan Fabian, PRI’s chief responsible investment officer, outlined that, according to the IEA’s Announced Pledges Scenarios, an “optimistic” outcome would be 1.7 degrees of warming, with the implementation of current policy pledges.
He said: “But the prospect of overshooting the 1.5 degrees target does not change the goal rather than make an even stronger policy intervention, to reduce and remove emissions, to build more resilience to climate change in our economies, and, unfortunately, to pay more for loss and damage to those who suffer the most.”
Fabian stressed that the “overshooting” of the 1.5 degrees is not a free pass for economies to under-invest in the transition or support societies impacted, but “it should be a spur to more urgency, not less”.
A range of people from scientists to journalists say that the ‘1.5 degree [target] is dead’. I don’t buy it; I don’t buy it.
‘Turning point’ for green energy transition
Earlier in his address, Birol said that due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine “we are in the middle of the first global energy crisis”, which has sparked “wartime energy markets”.
He detailed that in response to the crisis, governments around the world are “putting huge amounts of money forward to accelerate the green transition” to ensure energy security in the future. Birol also outlined the importance of climate commitments and industrial policy in driving the green energy transition.
“So, this coming together of energy security, climate commitments and industrial policy are a very powerful combination.
“And I believe, this year will be a turning point in history for accelerating the clean energy transition,” he said.
Birol highlighted that the recent Inflation Reduction Act in the US, which aims to invest in domestic energy production while promoting green energy, is a key example of governmental policy targeted at advancing the energy transition.
