ECO fails to understand why is it that humans, as rational and self-interested creatures, want to continue to dig and drill in the ground for energy when the most abundant and economically sound choices are available above the ground, for free, and come with myriad benefits.
A decade or so back, fossil fuels made some economic sense because the levelized cost of energy from fossil fuel sources was significantly cheaper than renewables. But now, especially for wind and solar, the cost is on par or even cheaper than fossils, and that’s before we look at the social costs and impacts they have on our health, well-being, and most importantly our climate. ECO is perplexed as to why countries would want to support some vested interests just want to get richer and richer at the expense of the world.
Fossil fuel companies, including some of the world’s biggest oil and gas firms who claim to support the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below the 1.5°C threshold, are likely to generate profits (not revenues!) of about US$250billion in 2022. Even more outrageous is that they are set to spend almost $1trillion in the next eight years on new gas and oil mining, all while being fully aware that any new investment in fossil fuels will push the world irrevocably over 1.5°C and have severe repercussions on the climate and our lives. And to top it all off, they rely on tax breaks, subsidies, and public finance to keep what UN Secretary-General Guterres calls, “the moral and economic madness” going.
ECO knows that the transition to renewable energy and radical energy efficiency is economically viable and inevitable. The IPCC has warned that the time is running out to avoid a climate catastrophe. The world’s reliance on fossil fuels is increasingly untenable. Renewable energy, complemented by energy efficiency, has the potential to meet all of the world’s energy needs. It is high time we started a managed phase-out of all fossil fuels. Significant public and private finance should be harnessed to make this happen. This is the only rational, and the most optimal choice in the self-interest of the world.
On this thematic day dedicated to energy, ECO is calling on parties at COP27 to resolve to stop all new investments in fossil fuels as recommended by the IEA. The world needs a managed phase-out of all fossil fuels and a move to a 100% renewable future. We need to accomplish this starting with the richer countries in the coming decade and with the last countries reaching it by 2050. Can we achieve this at COP27? Or, do we accept homo non-sapiens as part of the evolution of our species?