Good COP, Bad COP, Broad COP
The reduced supply of natural gas in Europe is being solved in the short term with an increased use of coal for energy generation. In June, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands announced an emergency restart of coal power plants, postponing the planned decommissioning of the heavy emitters (coal power plants emit more than twice as much as natural gas plants of the same size). The perils of such a trend represent a further reduction in our chance to limit climate change. At the end of October, the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) published its 2022 Emissions Gap Report, pointing out that after a COVID-induced reduction in 2020, 2021 emissions rebounded and reached 52.8 Gt CO2e, above 2019 levels. Yet again, world leaders reconvened to discuss solutions while scientists warned that we are running out of time.