Five years after the Paris Agreement on the climate, the signatories of the text must meet at a virtual summit organized on Saturday December 12 by the UN, France and the United Kingdom.
On the ground, the text is far from being respected and climatologists continue to observe an unprecedented increase in temperatures.
France 24 looks back on several significant events that have favored the fight against global warming and, on the contrary, accelerated carbon emissions in 2020, a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The defeat of Donald Trump, unwavering support of the fossil fuel industries
The election in November of Joe Biden to the White House gives great hope to conservationists.
Although the latter does not officially take office until January 20, 2021, he has already called for a return of Washington to the Paris Agreement.
The application of this text by the United States, the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, behind China, could give new impetus to the fight against global warming.
Donald Trump, unwavering support of the fossil fuel industries, had his country withdrawn from the agreement, the day after the presidential election on November 4.
Prone to theories denying climate change, the Republican billionaire had offered them global publicity, while focusing on reducing environmental protection measures in his country.
Democrat Joe Biden is expected to wipe out several environmental decisions made by his predecessor.
He notably assured that from his first day in the Oval Office, he would take measures to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Donald Trump had authorized in August oil and gas drilling in this protected territory of nearly 75,000 km2, populated by caribou and polar bears.
Joe Biden's environmental commitments have limits, however.
For example, the elected president does not want to stop the controversial technique of the hydraulic fraction, which consists of extracting oil and gas trapped in the subsoil by injecting fluids at high pressure.
Denmark announces the end of its oil operations
The leading black gold producer in the European Union announced on December 4 the end of all oil and gas exploitation in the North Sea by 2050, as part of its efforts to become a model of energy transition.
This decision, hailed by Greenpeace Denmark, comes at the right time for the anniversary summit of the Paris agreement when we know that oil and gas companies are responsible for more than 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Gas production has also become minimal, at 3.2 billion cubic meters last year.
Moreover, Denmark is careful not to include Greenland, a semi-autonomous island which depends on Copenhagen, to this extent.
However, there would be vast quantities of unexplored petroleum resources there that could become accessible due to climate change in the coming decades.
Decrease in CO2 emissions due to the pandemic
If the Covid-19 crisis has already caused the death of more than 1,580,000 people around the world, it has also brought about a sudden drop in CO2 emissions.
The reduction in travel, industrial activity and electricity production is expected to result in a 7% drop in these emissions in 2020, which will, however, only lead to a reduction of 0.01 ° C in temperature. by 2050, according to data from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The impact is therefore very low on global warming, which continues inexorably.
In its December conclusions on the state of the climate in 2020, the World Meteorological Organization announced that the past year is on track to become the second hottest on record.
The planet is still heading for 3 ° C warming, despite the pandemic.
The UN expressed the wish that the coronavirus crisis could be used for the implementation of a real "green recovery", with in particular direct and massive support for carbon-free infrastructure and technologies, a reduction in fossil fuel subsidies, end of coal-fired power stations, the development of "nature-based solutions", large-scale reforestation.
Nothing is less certain if we are to believe the non-exhaustive list of the biggest setbacks of the year identified by France 24 in the fight against global warming.
Multiplication of “made in China” coal-fired power stations
From Indonesia to Zimbabwe, China, the world's largest polluter, stepped up projects for coal-fired power stations abroad in 2020.
As a reminder, coal, of which China has significant reserves, is the source of 40% of global CO2 emissions.
Chinese companies are currently building coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 19.6 gigawatts (GW), for a budget of nearly 21 billion euros, alerted the Global Development Policy Center of Boston University.
These projects include the Sengwa plant in Zimbabwe, one of the largest in Africa, and at least eight factories in Pakistan.
In addition to these sites already under construction, projects with a total capacity of 56 GW are in the pipeline.
In total, these plants would release 115 million tonnes of CO2 each year into the atmosphere.
However, good news for climate activists: since the Covid-19 pandemic and its serious economic consequences, several projects have been slowed down or or simply canceled, particularly in Egypt, Bangladesh and Kenya.
Amazon deforestation has its worst year
Under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, the green lung of the world lost more than 11,000 km² in 2020, unprecedented in twelve years.
An area equivalent to that of countries like Qatar or Montenegro.
This sad record represents a 9.5% increase in deforestation compared to last year.
It is far superior to the previous one, which dates back to 2018, a year before Jair Bolsonaro came to power.
At the time, 7,536 km² had been cleared.
Since the start of his term, the far-right Brazilian president has weakened the Ibama environment agency and called for further development of agricultural trade and mining in the Amazon region.
Measures which, according to him, should enable the region to emerge from poverty.
But for conservationists, the local population has been purely motivated to exploit the rainforest.
French banks continue to finance fossil fuels
In a report published on December 10, 18 NGOs accuse international finance, in particular French banks, of aggravating the climate crisis by continuing to support projects emitting CO2.
According to this report deciphered by Reporterre, French banks and investors have granted 104 billion euros in financing and 18 billion euros in investments to polluting projects.
“Three French banks - BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Crédit Agricole - remain among the 20 largest global financiers of the expansion of fossil fuels”, indicates the NGOs Friends of the Earth and Reclaim Finance.
Among the projects funded by global banks, the report lists “12 fossil fuel mega-clusters” spread across all continents.
“If they see the light of day, these 12 climate bombs alone would consume 75% of the carbon budget available to remain under the limit of +1.5 ° C”, estimates the consortium of associations.
With AFP and Reuters
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR