As COP31 is underway in Turkey, one clear call has been for tangible steps instead of declarations and pledges.
Arriving in Turkey, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg criticised the UN’s annual climate summits as “greenwashed circuses”.
“COPs have become greenwashed circuses. That is the reality,” Thunberg, who had not taken part in the climate conferences since Glasgow in 2021, told the press.
It’s believed that many fellow climate activists of Thunberg share the same feeling because in their view, such summits sometimes focus too much on rhetoric while delivering very little.
The disillusionment, reportedly, stems from the slow pace of success in moving from fossil fuels to clean energy.
However, Thunberg also acknowledged the importance of COP summits, saying that the main feature of this meet was its capacity to bring so many people together.
Realistically speaking, expecting a major breakthrough in reducing dependence on fossil fuel may be quixotic since many of the developing nations still rely heavily on them.
Point to note, the chair of this year’s summit, Australia, is also a major exporter of coal with Turkey, the host nation, recently celebrating the discovery of two oil fields.
Several nations, including the host, has been raising voice in support of electrification, meaning a global move to replace petrol cars, boilers, coal-powered installations with electricity driven ones.
Turkey has so far been pushing government representatives attending the conference to put a goal on electrification at the centre of a final deal.
The proposal targets a rise in electricity’s share of total global energy consumption to 35% by 2035.
The objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars, factories and buildings.
Again, something easier said than done because at this moment, there isn’t a cohesive strategy as to how this can be achieved, especially when developing nations like Bangladesh still rely heavily on traditional energy sources.
For Bangladesh, an example to follow will be China, which is leading the global electrification drive, with results outshining that of other developed countries, including the USA.
Electrification in China touches several sectors: transport, industry and power infrastructure.
We Mean Business Coalition refers to ‘The Electrification Competitiveness Index’, evaluating how far electrification has progressed in different nations.
According to this non-profit global coalition, China scores 68% for deployment, the highest of the economies assessed, and 78% for enabling conditions, placing it in the Index’s ‘solid foundation’ group alongside France and Spain.
It combines strong performance in electric transport, industrial electrification and grid infrastructure with policies supporting manufacturing, clean power and investment.
For the general consumer in any country, including Bangladesh, this means, more Electric Vehicles (EVs) and fewer cars that burn petrol, replacing gas-powered boilers plus coal powered heavy equipment with electric driven ones and transition to clean grid connection, relying more on solar and wind power.
Electric automobiles are already in our market with several Chinese hybrid brands dominating sales, however, for large- scale electrification, touching various sectors, Bangladesh will need technological plus financial support.
With electrification given emphasis at COP31, a clearly defined strategy to facilitate developing nations in the transition process is essential and that procedure must be practical, involving a step by step approach.
To keep in mind a quote by Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australian Institute: “It’s not climate change that needs to be tackled. It is the political power of the fossil fuel industry.”
