Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Starlink to South Africa: ‘We are ready to invest’

      17 June 2025

      Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

      17 June 2025

      Major rift opens between Microsoft and OpenAI

      17 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      South African AI energy start-up in R32m funding round

      17 June 2025
    • World

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Energy and sustainability » Battleground Glasgow

    Battleground Glasgow

    By Luke Moore27 October 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    The author, Luke Moore

    A divisive issue is set to take centre stage at Cop26 as tension builds between rich and poor nations. Countries from the rich bloc have grown their economies on the back of carbon-intensive industrial activity, while countries from the poor bloc is following suit in attempts to lift themselves out of poverty and ecological disaster.

    Negotiations at Cop26 will focus on commitments to reducing global emissions to net-zero by mid-century or sooner. Effectively, shifting our energy source is the greatest global project since World War 2. With such an unlevel playing field, however, several battle lines are emerging:

    • Climate change impacts are felt most acutely in countries with the least adaptive capacity and lowest levels of resilience.
    • Countries with the highest energy consumption per capita are imposing, however diplomatically, far-reaching emissions reduction commitments on poorer countries.
    • All this is taking place against a backdrop of intense political nationalism, individual polarisation and inflexibility, and the prospect of rapidly rising inflation.

    Energy is central to economic growth but is also responsible for roughly 75% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and is therefore a natural focus point for decarbonisation and net-zero efforts. The challenge faced by developing countries in particular is decoupling development and economic growth from carbon-intensive production and services. Attempts to address this have been in the works since the Rio Summit in 1992 via the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) mechanism. CBDR proposed that poorer countries should be allowed to exploit carbon-intensive resources to drive economic growth and development, with developed nations committing to reducing their reliance on fossil fuels and other sources of greenhouse gases.

    The problem with CBDR was that there was no agreed baseline of what sustainable emission levels looked like. How much the planet can tolerate was never calculated in a way that was universally accepted. What followed was 30 years of science doing battle with politics and social media. Until now.

    Agreeing on the science

    Cop26 is the first time, ever, that world leaders from the US, China, Russia and the EU — nations that have traditionally opposed each other on every energy and environmental debate — are actually agreeing on the science. While it is great progress that national governments are meeting at the negotiating table with a broad common goal, the private sector is arguably sitting on the sidelines.

    In the absence of clear policy from the politicians, parts of the financial sector have quickly adapted to direct flows of finance towards more planet-friendly portfolios and sectors. ESG assets now comprise roughly 30% of global equity (assets under management), but hopes are high for Cop26 to add the necessary impetus to other sectors, backed by the science of the latest IPCC report, AR6. It is interesting to note that sustainable debt instruments equate to less than 3% of the US$124-trillion global debt capital market. It is time for debt markets to up the ante in their participation in saving the planet.

    This scenario presents a unique, if challenging, opportunity for the private sector to drive the new climate economy on the ground rather than on paper. Simply shifting funds to passive ETFs may not provide the trickle-down effects on the real economy to bring the change quickly and sustainably. Only 10 years ago, the carbon disclosure mechanism, designed to promote north-south financial solutions to climate change, collapsed as the price of carbon credits became too cheap and the banking sector lost interest.

    How will Cop26 ensure that this time round we get it right?

    Rather than handouts or traditional “aid” to developing countries, innovative strategies that promote a “just economic transition” are needed, in the mould of current talks between South Africa, Eskom and several developed nations to sustainably decarbonise energy generation.

    Getting the private sector on the bus will contribute enormously to protecting South African exports from possible trade barriers imposed by offshore counter-parties with inflexible net-zero emission requirements. And, we forget at our peril that consumers are becoming increasingly demanding regarding the sourcing and sustainability of the products they buy.

    • Luke Moore is climate risk specialist at EBS Advisory


    COP26 Luke Moore
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleCorolla Cross: Toyota’s big bet on hybrid cars in South Africa
    Next Article Eskom crisis deepens: Stage-4 load shedding until Friday

    Related Posts

    Rich nations head to South Africa seeking coal exit deal

    15 September 2021
    Company News

    Altron: a brand journey, a birthday celebration and a bet on Joburg’s future

    17 June 2025

    7 benefits of social media integration in WordPress

    17 June 2025

    Paratus Zimbabwe and PowerTel strike milestone deal

    17 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.