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COP26: Extra Time Looms for Summit as Wales Pledges to Stop Oil and Gas

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As the clock counts down to the final hours of the climate summit, Thursday was dedicated to cities, regions and the built environment.

Wales was in the spotlight when it joined – with five other nations – the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, a group of countries committed to phasing out all oil and gas production.

Founded by Denmark and Costa Rica, the alliance’s full members now also include France, Greenland, Ireland, Quebec, and Sweden. The state of California, Portugal and New Zealand join as associate members.

All BOGA members commit to ending new oil and gas projects, including in existing licensed areas, with global north producing countries reducing production immediately.

The UK government has declined to join, saying: “While the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels continues to fall, there will continue to be ongoing but diminishing need for oil and gas …while we ramp up renewable energy capacity.”

The UK continues to leave the door open for a large new oilfield off the Shetland islands as well as a new coalmine in Cumbria.

Responding to the expansion of BOGA, Oxfam’s climate policy advisor Lyndsay Walsh said:

“It is disappointing that the UK Government has not signed up to this welcome initiative. The UK may have led the way on committing to net zero emissions, but it must now address the epic contradiction of continuing to grant oil and gas licences in the North Sea.”

“The International Energy Agency is clear that there is no room for new fossil fuel production if we are to limit global heating to 1.5°C, and that new production must immediately cease in industrialised countries that have historically benefited from extraction.”

In the Green Zone, Wales and Uganda exchanged experiences, part of a long-standing arrangement between the two countries.

15 million trees have been planted in Uganda as part of a Welsh Government initiative to help tackle the climate emergency, with ambitions to plant 25 million trees by 2025.

For many years Wales and the Mt Elgon region of Uganda have working together to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the region and the world.

Tensions were rising on Thursday, with time running out to finalise the agreements that will define COP26 as a success or failure.

UN secretary general, António Guterres, said announcements made so far on forests, methane, and clean technology were “encouraging.”

But were “far from enough. The emissions gap remains a devastating threat. The finance and adaptation gap represent a glaring injustice for the developing world.”

“Promises ring hollow when the fossil fuels industry still receives trillions in subsidies… or when countries are still building coal plants.”

24 hours before the summit was due to end, COP26 President Alok Sharma added: “We still have a monumental task ahead of us.”

Business News Wales