Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
11/20/2015
Meeting in Paris just two weeks before the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), energy ministers called for the development of a strong climate agreement. “We emphasise the need to explicitly recognise and signal for COP21 that an energy transformation is necessary if our climate goals are to be achieved and that the transformation is underway. We will continue to support our respective negotiators to successfully conclude an ambitious agreement,” the ministers wrote in the IEA Ministerial Statement on Energy and Climate Change.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz chaired the 2015 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting this week and echoed the call for a strong global climate agreement in his Summary of the Chair, released following the conclusion of the ministers’ meeting. “Given that the energy sector contributes some two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, Ministers’ discussions focused on the critical role that energy sector policies and energy innovation can play to successfully combat climate change,” Moniz wrote.
The ministers made five recommendation that provide the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector while maintaining the economic and sustainable development prospects of all regions. These recommendations are: increasing energy efficiency in the industry, buildings, and transport sectors; phasing out the use of the least-efficient coal-fired power plants; increasing investment in renewable energy technologies (including hydropower) over time, reaching at least $400 billion in 2030; gradual phasing out of inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies to end-users; and reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production.
In his chair’s summary, Moniz stressed the need to increase clean energy research and development. “Recognizing the importance of accelerated energy technology development, demonstration and deployment, faster cost reduction, and appropriate policies, Ministers asked the IEA to strengthen its energy technology outreach activities and expand participation of Member and non-Member countries, the science and research communities, industry partners and other stakeholders,” Moniz wrote.
Moniz also emphasized supporting clean energy innovation late last week as he spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The energy secretary highlighted a need for such innovation in all energy sectors, including fossil energy, to ensure an “all-of-the-above” energy system. “[Some-of-the-above], it’s not going to work. There are — there is not going to be a single low-carbon solution for the world. There’s not going to be a single low-carbon solution for the United States. We’re going to have dramatic regional differences,” Moniz said,
The treatment of coal in an all-of-the-above, climate friendly, energy system translates to a need to advance carbon capture and storage technology, Moniz said. He further noted, however, that CCS’s utility in efforts to decarbonize is not limited to coal. “Is natural gas part of the problem or part of the solution? The answer is yes; right now it is clearly part of the solution. It’s had a major role in CO2 emissions reduction through its market-driven substitution for coal in many places. And it’s carbon light,” Moniz explained. “However, not in this decade or the next decade perhaps, but as we go to a trajectory of ever-lower carbon emissions, well, then natural gas will be too carbon-intense, and it will need carbon capture and sequestration.”
