In 2015, The Paris Agreement brought together around 200 countries – almost all the world’s nations – in an agreement to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming. It came into force on 4 November 2016.
Six years after the Paris Agreement, countries met again at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom to revisit the climate pledges made in 2015. The outcome of COP26 was the Glasgow Climate Pact and it will set the agenda on climate change for the next decade.
For the first time in the history of the Conference of the Parties (COP), countries committed themselves to limit the use of coal, which is responsible for a large share of CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the leaders of more than 100 countries promised to put a stop to deforestation by 2030. The countries also agreed to meet again in 2022 to pledge further cuts to CO2 emissions in an effort to keep temperature rises within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Another key element of the Glasgow Climate Pact is the commitment to increase climate financing for developing countries to help them cope with the effects of climate change and accelerate their transition to clean energy sources. World leaders also agreed to gradually phase out subsidies that artificially lower the price of coal, oil, or natural gas.
The President of Armenia, Armen Sargsyan, also delivered a speech at the Conference. He talked about irreversible changes and the urgency of actions needed to tackle the climate issues. Though businesses are becoming more aware of the issues related to climate change, sufficient efforts are not still in place to make the steps satisfactory and scalable.
Over the past few years, Armenia has made a significant step towards improving the framework conditions concerning renewable energy, i.e. adopting net-metering practices. To touch more types of businesses and make the efforts scalable, further development of appropriate climate-relevant actions, including interventions towards adopting energy efficiency practices and investments, is indispensable.
At the moment, mostly the IFI-based financing support mechanisms are elaborated in Armenia. One of them is the EBRD’s GEFF in Armenia, which assists in implementing energy efficiency, renewable energy and specific climate adaptation measures, such as sustainable land management and water efficiency. Such investments allow significant energy and money savings, increase energy independence and cut down on their annual emissions. In this way, the GEFF also contributes to the achievement of the objectives mentioned above.
The next session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UNFCCC is scheduled to take place next year in Egypt. The final goal is to continue cutting emissions until the countries reach net zero in 2050.
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