The Conference of Parties of the United Nations Climate Change Conference finally uttered the dread words “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems”, but in “a just, orderly and equitable fashion.” The COP’s 28 edition, which met in Dubai over the last two weeks, had to go into overtime on Wednesday, as the world finally faced a reality that had become apparent years, if not decades, ago: if one wanted to reduce the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, one would have to stop burning the hydrocarbons present in fossil fuels, mainly oil, though coal and gas were also worth mentioning. His met resistance from the oil exporting countries, and it was their insistence that led to these being mentioned as to be ‘transitioned away’ in a just, orderly and equitable’ fashion. That may be taken to mean that the oil exporters are to be left to export at will. There was no deadline given for the transition, though that will presumably come in the future. That means that apart from exporters, oil importers are under no pressure to make a transition.
Pakistan is an example of an importing country. It would not be too happy with a phase-out, not just because of its inability to provide employment to the thousands of workers in oil exporting countries of the Gulf, who would lose their jobs if the Gulf oil exporters were to lose oil revenues. There is also the problem that it has recently placed reliance on a fossil fuel, coal, for power generation rather than renewables. Further, it might not be able to afford a phase-out, presuming it was technologically possible. Making a switch to electricity for transport would mean not just replacing the entire existing fleet of vehicles, but also developing a huge extra generational capacity. All of this required a vast amount of money, and it seems somehow unfair that Pakistan has to pay for the extravagance of the developed world.
Thus it is that it has supported the setting up of a Loss and Damages Fund, to which developed nations which have announced some small contributions amounting to less than $1 billion, as opposed to the $400 billion needed this year alone to compensate for the losses suffered due to global warming and resulting climate change. Every state has got some such tale to tel.
