The executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, who has attended the coal summit in Warsaw, was highly criticized by environmentalists and activists.
Speaking at the International Coal and Climate Summit on Monday, organized by the Polish government and the World Coal Association, the top UNFCCC official said the coal industry could and must radically transform and diversify to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
UNFCCC said in a press release, addressing the CEOs of major coal companies Figueres said: “Let me be clear from the outset that my joining you today is neither a tacit approval of coal use, nor is it a call for the immediate disappearance of coal. But I am here to say that coal must change rapidly and dramatically for everyone’s sake.”
The World Coal Summit is taking place shortly after the release of the findings of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shows that human-generated climate change is real and accelerating, and at the same time as the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw.
Figueres said that in order to make this radical transformation, further capital expenditure on coal could only go ahead if it is compatible with the 2 degree Celsius limit. She pointed to the building groundswell of climate action and climate change-related policies at all levels of government and society.
“All of this tells me that the coal industry faces a business continuation risk that you cannot afford to ignore. Like any other industry, you have a fiduciary responsibility towards your workforce and shareholders. And by now it is abundantly clear that further capital expenditures on coal can only go ahead if they are compatible with the 2 degree Celsius limit.”
Figueres urged the coal industry to honestly assess the financial risks of business as usual, to anticipate increasing regulation, growing finance restrictions and diminishing public acceptance and to leverage technology to reduce emissions immediately across the entire chain of coal output.
She also noted that the industry would need to diversify its portfolio beyond coal, noting that the bottom line for the atmosphere is that most existing coal reserves will have to stay in the ground.
“Some major oil, gas and energy technology companies are already investing in renewable energies, and I urge those of you who have not yet started to do this to join them. By diversifying your portfolio beyond coal, you too can produce clean energy that reduces pollution, enhances public health, increases energy security, and creates new jobs,” she said.
Environment activist were demonstrating while Figueres was addressing the summit.
One of the activists told benews24.com, climate is not for politics. Climate is our, people will take the decision. Coal should not be included in the climate talk.
There is no clean coal. Coal is dirty, they said.
They also presented a short drama in conference area against the use of coal in industry, particularly in power plant with placards and posters.
