Is saal ke Joint Nations Climate Change Conference ko ek petrostate ne host kiya aur ek fossil fuel CEO ne lead kiya, is liye maahireen samajhte hain ke climate campaigners ka umeed se kam tha. Lekin, summit ne kuch naye commitments di hain, aur ye bhi mumkin hai ke ye sirf khali alfaaz nahi hain.
DUBAI – “Actionism.” Ye lafz Dubai International Airport par anay walay musafiron ko swagat karte waqt mila, jahan pe 100,000 ya is se zyada climate negotiators, activists, industry lobbyists, aur doosre log is saal ke United Nations Climate Change Conference aur iske events mein shamil ho rahe thay. Ye shabd woh ads par chamak raha tha jo airport ko COP28 venue se seedha jodne wale metro mein the, aur isko sheher ke do mukhya “roads” ke sath lambai mein phelai gayi kuch billboards par bhi dekha gaya. Taqreeban, is naye lafz ka matlab nahi sirf action hai, balki ye “tabdili laane ke liye taqatwar action” ko bhi darust karna chahta hai.
Har roz ke lafz ko dobara naam denay ki koshish COP28 ko encapsulate karti hai, jo ke aaj tak ke sab se khayali climate summits mein se ek hai. Dubai ki dikhawayi dene wali fosil-fuel se bharpoor dolat, galat taur par car-centric sheher ki tajwez, aur ye ke COP28 khud ek fossil-fuel CEO ke zair-e-noon tha, is exercise ko purani salahiyyat se dekhnay mein is bar asaan tha.
Lekin, cynicism humain climate change ka samna karne mein madad nahi karegi, aur jab ye sab greenwashing ke darmiyan chhupa hua tha, tab bhi zameen par kuch asli taraqqi dikhai di gayi thi. Do haftay pehle conference se, United Arab Emirates ne duniya ke sab se bara single-site solar plant inaugurate kiya, jisme do gigawatts ke panels 20 square kilometers par phaile hue hain, aur ye UAE ke lagbhag 200,000 gharo ko $0.0132 per kilowatt-hour par taawan dete hain – ye scale par bijli pesh karne ka ek sab se kam daam hai.
Ye bhi tareef ke kaabil hai ke renewables lobby duniya bhar ke 118 governments ke saath milkar ek pledge manaa rahi hai, jisme global renewable energy capacity ko teen guna aur energy efficiency improvements ki saalana dar ko double karne ka waada kiya gaya hai 2030 tak. Nuclear industry ko bhi khushi milti hai, kyun ke 22 governments ne global nuclear energy capacity ko 2050 tak teen guna karne ka waada kiya hai. Ye dono commitments climate ke liye achi khabar hai. Duniya ko jald se jald fosil-fuel istemal kam karne ke liye renewables aur nuclear dono ki zarurat hai. Ye zaruri hai ke low-carbon capacity ko jald se jald banaaya jaye, COP28 agreement mein “phase out,” “phase down,” ya “fossil fuels se transition” jese shabdon se zyada important hai.
Is liye bhi mushkil hai ke ek aur pledge ko jisme methane (CH4) ko kam karne ka waada kiya gaya. Jabke carbon dioxide (CO2) sab se bara climate culprit hai, CH4 is daur mein duniya ke 45% planetary warming ke liye zimmedar hoga – halaanke ye CO2 ke liye itna lamba waqt tak nahi rehta.
Is liye jab US Environmental Protection Agency ne 2 December ko, COP28 ke pehle Saturday ko, ek lambi intezaar ki gayi rule ko finalize kiya, jisme oil aur gas sector ke CH4 emissions ko 15 saal mein lagbhag 80% kam karne ka waada kiya gaya, to ye bahut zyada is waqt par the. Is khabar ke sath ek $1 billion commitment bhi tha ke chhote mulkon ko is masle ka hal karne mein madad ki jayegi, jiski wajah se kuch ne Global Methane Pledge mein shamil hone ka faisla kiya, jo ki COP26 mein Glasgow mein shuru hui aur COP27 mein Sharm El-Sheikh mein mazboot ki gayi thi. Aur ye sab baatein ek EU law ke baad aayi hain jo tight CH4 leakage standards ko set karti hai. Is EU regulatory fashion mein, ye hukum Europe ke borders se bahut door tak pohanchne wala hai.
2 December ne ek bada industry announcement bhi laya, jisme duniya ke 50 sabse bade oil aur gas companies shamil thay – jisme ExxonMobil, Shell, SaudiAramco, aur ADNOC (Sultan al Jaber ke zair-e-noon COP28 president) shamil thay – ne apne CH4 emissions ko lagbhag khatam karne ka waada kiya. Iska matlab hai ke dono venting aur routine flaring of CH4 ko hal karne ka waada kiya gaya. Ye ki pehle ki bhi UAE mein is practice ko 20 saal se roka gaya tha, lekin Dubai ko ghera hua constant haze aur hawadar pollution ka bada cause hai. Umeed hai ke “actionism” is waade ko haqiqatan mein tabdeel kar dega.
Climate campaigners industry ke iraday par sawalat kar rahe hain, aur ye keh rahe hain ke aise waade CO2 aur CH4 emissions ko kam karne ki zarurat ko kam kar sakte hain, na ke sirf uske production se. Unka kehna hai ke jese ke Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub ne earlier this year S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference mein kaha ke Occidental ke direct-air-capture technology ko kharidna “humein is industry ko operate karne ke liye 60, 70, 80 saal ke liye license deta hai.” Ye bayan moral hazard ko kisi climate campaigner ne kabhi dikha nahi sakta.
Ye sab baatein CH4 emissions ko is daur mein kam karne se aane wale asal aur positive asarat ko kam nahi karti hain (ya carbon-removal technologies ko scale up karne se, is mamle mein). Lekin, COP ka process