We need urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy: Guterres

NEW DELHI: In his address to the virtual COP26 Roundtable on Clean Power Transition, Antonio Guterres, Secretary general, United Nations, said that we need an urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in order to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. He asked for a strong commitment from the governments across the globe to end fossil fuel subsidies, put a price on carbon, shift taxation from people to pollution, and end the construction of coal-fired power plants.

Guterres in the roundtable noted that countries are still not prioritising sustainable investment. He asserted that there is a need for six per cent annual decrease in energy production from fossil fuels through renewables, transition programmes, economic diversification plans, green bonds, and other available instruments to advance sustainability.

He claimed that more than 789 million people are living without any access to electricity in developing countries. Three-quarters of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa. According to him, African economies and other developing countries can leapfrog from a polluting development model and transition to a clean, sustainable energy pathway with international support. He underscored the importance of providing access to clean and renewable energy that prevents the dangerous heating of our planet”.