Newsletter: Fight against climate change gets reinforced after Glasgow
Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Good morning Future is blue readers,
This week we are taking a close look at what happened at the UN COP26 Glasgow summit. Are we going in the right direction in the fight against climate change after this important event?
We've reached out to María Mendiluce, CEO of the We mean business coalition to join our latest podcast together with Raymond Torres, Funcas Europe Director, and Carlos Carnicero Urabayen, Future is blue editorial coordinator. More info on this below.
See at the end what we are reading these days.
New podcast available!
Emissions keep rising and promises to cut those emissions keep rising as well. This is certainly a paradox. But we have come out of Glasgow in better shape to fight climate change.
It's been widely criticised that the language on fossil fuels is not strong enough, but we shouldn't lose perspective here: this is the first time the subject is included in the summit's agreement. As María Mendiluce puts it in our podcast, "to phase out coal, you need to phase it down first".
In our conversation we also take a look at how economic recovery is being affected by green transition plans. Is Europe doing enough to fight climate change? Can the EU´s green agenda be compromised in some way by what it's likely going to be a cold and expensive winter for the consumers?
Renewables can't be blamed for the spike in energy prices and, certainly, green energies are part of the solution to reduce price instability in the market. However, policymakers need to really take transition very seriously and put in place the right policies and investments to make sure the green journey is not leaving the most vulnerable behind.
What we are reading
COP26 statement from the We mean business coalition
Great overview of measures that policymakers should put in place to keep the 1.5°C temperature goal and to ensure a just transition
Europe’s climate challenges, the EU’s recovery fund and Nord stream
Worth listening this new CER think tank podcast including comments on climate action policies, recovery funds and transatlantic relations after Biden in the context of the Nord Stream 2
National policies to shield consumers from rising energy prices
As we are entering an expensive winter for Europeans due to the current energy prices, Bruegel has put together the national measurements that European governments are putting into place to protect consumers from rising prices.
Climate promises made in Glasgow now rest with a handful of powerful leaders
In Washington, Beijing, New Delhi and beyond, governments face conflicting forces — political, social and economic — that will shape their next steps in the effort to avert a climate crisis.
Have a nice rest of the week!
Raymond Torres, Funcas Europe Director