António Guterres warns leaders of catastrophic consequences of failure to act as conference in Egypt opened
What should a country like Britain which has such a huge economic influence over the world be doing?
Johnson admits: “We started it all. Per capita, people in the UK have put a lot of carbon into the air. But we simply do not have the financial resources for reparations.” He returns again to the partnership with South Africa, where the UK acts as “a midwife, a convenor” to bring together private resources and then use it to encourage others to come in.
Meanwhile the row at COP27 over oil and gas exploitation is under way, with strong comments from NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of the African Energy Chamber (http://www.EnergyChamber.org). In short, some African countries want to use fossil fuels to power development and bring electricity to the many people who lack it. But many countries oppose this, seeing the “gas bridge” as a false solution, at a time when the climate cannot afford new fossil fuel emissions.
Ayuk said: “Rich Western forces, especially in Europe, have been pushing for an immediate shift away from fossil fuels, and their pressure is impacting Africa’s oil and gas industry. We’re already seeing investments in new oil and gas projects dwindle and one announcement after another about majors divesting African oil and gas assets.
”What western proponents for a rapid energy transition are ignoring is the role fossil fuels can play in bringing reliable energy to the hundreds of millions of Africans who now go without it, not to mention fossil fuel’s potential to pave the way for industrialization, economic growth, and greater stability for our people. At the same time, Western activists conveniently forget that they have used – and continue to use – fossil fuels to expand their own wealth and energy security.
”In fact, as the war in Ukraine and subsequent cut-off of Russian energy supplies to the EU has shown, in the coin toss between energy security and environmental causes, even for Europeans, energy security wins. We feel for Europe. We know what it’s like to lack access to reliable and affordable energy. We also know we’re every bit as deserving as it is of a just energy transition that factors in our unique needs.
”Natural gas is a crucial fuel choice for any decarbonisation pathway for the continent. It can get us closer to energy independence and environmental sustainability in pursuit of global climate goals. Don’t misunderstand: I’m a big proponent of renewable energy. But I’m an even bigger proponent of Africa and her people.”
“I’m here in a purely supportive, foot soldier role,” says that well-known shrinking violet Boris Johnson. He just wants to celebrate the achievements of Glasgow.
“Were you worried when you heard that the current PM was not planning to attend?” asks Bearak, referring to Rishi Sunak’s initial decision not to come to Cop27.
Johnson slightly waves it off, says it’s all good, and manages to get Bearak talking about his ancestors.
Bearak is still curious about this “Glasgow spirit of optimism” that Johnson is discussing. “Do you lie in bed worrying that we’re failing?”
“We are,” says Johnson. “Be in no doubt, at the current rate we are.” He says that there were great promises made at Glasgow but they are not being kept. He has not seen, for example, the promised slowing in deforestation. Twenty per cent of CO2 comes from deforestation: “What are we going to do about that?”
How do we promote these things? It’s the market. Offshore wind is now the cheapest form of energy in the UK, says Johnson. No one would have believed that ten years ago. Stick with it and help other people to get with it.
How do we get through the period coming up of high energy bills, wonders Bearak?
“The answer is not to renew our addiction to hydrocarbons, the answer is to accelerate the adoption of green solutions,” says Johnson.
In the short term we need to abate the cost, he agrees.
But in the meantime the UK is issuing new gas licences, says Bearak. “We should not be lurching back into a dependence on oil and gas, and I think the sector understands that,” says Johnson.
“The reason I’m here is because the discussion about Ukraine is having all kinds of negative effects … this is not the moment to go weak on net zero, this is the time to double down,” says Boris Johnson.
He thinks the Ukraine war is causing huge problems but that we must not back away from it. “I think this is a Manichean struggle between good and evil … I think Putin is evil and if he gets away with it the consequences for the world will be disastrous.” He pays tribute to the amount of support that the US in particular has given the Ukrainians.
How should the climate funding gap be closed, asks Bearak?
Johnson says that the UK and countries around the world have given a lot, but “the tax payer in the developed world can’t do everything and especially not now”. The best way forward, he believes, is programmes like the deal with South Africa which use government support to trigger the private sector to come in.
“The answer to this problem is going to be found in a partnership between activist international community and the private sector.”
They are now discussing the case of the jailed writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Johnson says very that he should be let out and he should have consular access. Johnson discussed it with the Egyptian president, and says they have a good relationship. He hopes they can get on with it and release him as quickly as possible.
“We can see the scale of the problem, but we have the tools to fix this problem … We have to end Putin’s energy blackmail and keep up our campaign to end hydro-carbons.” He’s now concluded his opening remarks, and is sitting down for a conversation with the New York Times climate reporter Max Bearak.
We need to help other countries to leapfrog hydrocarbons, he argues.
The UK is investing in renewables and building a nuclear reactor every year. Johnson says we need to accelerate those investments, and even argues that we should have made those investments sooner. (Am not sure who he is blaming for this, given his party was in power for the last 12 years.)