Irony as Ruto, delegates arrive for pollution summit in fuel guzzlers

Preaching water and drinking wine?

President William Ruto and more than 50 high-profile government officials from across the world, hundreds of United Nation (UN)  staffers and other international delegates arrived for the climate resilience global summit at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi driving in dazzling fuel guzzlers in an ironical twist to the theme of the conference.

President Ruto rode in a motorcade of at least ten high-capacity engine vehicles as he officiated opening of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) summit, which is centered on plastic pollution.

The six-day conference will close on 19^th November.

President Ruto, whose government announced in September this year plans to halve excise duty on electric vehicles from 20 per cent to 10 per cent in a bid to boost manufacturing and adoption of lesser-polluting electric cars in the country recently acquired a Monaco blue Mercedes-Benz Maybach S600 Pullman.

The Head of State’s new toy is powered by a formidable V12 twin-turbo engine, a fuel tank that has a capacity of 500 litres while boasting of a maximum speed of up  to 210 km/h.

It weighs 5,600 kg, and can accelerate to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.  

According to the manufacturer, it runs on petrol (gasoline) with official fuel consumption figures being 18.0/9.2/12.9 litres/100km on urban/extra-urban/combined motring conditions.

Its carbon dioxide emission is rated as 299.0 g/km.

President Ruto also has in his official motorcade the Land Cruiser 300 series and his favourite Toyota Lexus LX-570, which are both high-emission vehicles.

At the recent global African Climate Summit held in Nairobi, President Ruto drove himself in Air Yetu, an electric car that he described as the ‘drive of the future’.

“Enjoyed a drive to Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi, to connect with Africa’s Youth on their climate declaration ahead of the Africa Climate Summit. A drive for the future: low-emission, planet-friendly e-mobility is the long-term sustainable transportation solution for humanity” he said then in an official tweet.

A new report released last week revealed that governments are planning to double fossil fuel extraction by 2030.

The 2023 Production Gap Report: “Phasing down or phasing up? Top fossil fuel producers plan even more extraction despite climate promises “indicates that about 110 percent more fossil fuels will be produced in 2030, which is more than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and 69 percent more than would be consistent with 2°C.   

The report dated November 8  provides newly expanded country profiles for 20 major fossil-fuel-producing countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. These profiles show that most of these governments continue to provide significant policy and financial support for fossil fuel production.  

The report indicates that while 17 of the 20 countries featured have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions — and many have launched initiatives to cut emissions from fossil fuel production activities — none have committed to reduce coal, oil, and gas production in line with limiting warming to 1.5°C.  

“We find that many governments are promoting fossil gas as an essential ‘transition’ fuel but with no apparent plans to transition away from it later,” says Ploy Achakulwisut, a lead author on the report and SEI scientist.

“But science says we must start reducing global coal, oil, and gas production and use now — along with scaling up clean energy, reducing methane emissions from all sources, and other climate actions — to keep the 1.5°C goal alive.”   

According to scientists, July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, and most likely the hottest for the past 120,000 years. Global carbon dioxide emissions rose to record highs in 2021–2022. Almost 90% of this comes from fossil fuels.    

Given risks and uncertainties of carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removal, the report states that countries should aim for a near total phase-out of coal production and use by 2040, and a combined reduction in oil and gas production and use by three-quarters by 2050 from 2020 levels, at a minimum. 

Despite being the root cause of the climate crisis, fossil fuels have remained largely absent from international climate negotiations until recent years. At COP26 in 2021, governments committed to accelerate efforts towards “the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, though they did not agree to address the production of all fossil fuels. 

Michael Lazarus, a lead author on the report and SEI US Centre Director, opines that COP28 could be the pivotal moment where governments finally commit to the phase-out of all fossil fuels and acknowledge the role producers have to play in facilitating a managed and equitable transition. 

“Governments with the greatest capacities to transition away from fossil fuel production bear the greatest responsibility to do so while providing finance and support to help other countries do the same.”

According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, there is need for credible commitments to ramp up renewables, phase out fossil fuels, and boost energy efficiency, while ensuring a just, equitable transition.

“Governments’ plans to expand fossil fuel production are undermining the energy transition needed to achieve net-zero emissions, throwing humanity’s future into question,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

While dissecting the findings of the new report, Alex Rafalowicz, the Executive Director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a proposed international mechanism to effectively regulate fossil fuel production and pave a clear, fair pathway for a shift to renewables in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC said  that to close the production gap, governments need to negotiate a binding global plan for ending expansion of new coal,oil and gas projects and managing this transition through negotiation of a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.

“People talk about a transition but it’s not a transition if you’re expanding the problem,and the UN is clear today-the hole we’re in is just getting bigger.

The climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis and the proliferation of fossil fuel infrastructure is one of the greatest safety risks of the 21^st century, ending the proliferation of new fossil fuel projects and planning for their phase out is the ultimate demonstration of true climate leadership,”he told the Nation.

According to Tzeporah Berman, the chair of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, there has been very little discussion about how to navigate a rapid, global phase out of fossil fuels while continuing to manage a sustainable development.

At the world’s biggest climate summit last year (COP27), she explained that fossil fuels have not been directly addressed in the UN climate talks considering the primary cause of loss and damage is fossil fuels, with coal, oil and gas fueling 86 per cent of CO2 emissions in the past decade.

The fossil fuel industry is also earning 11-figure profits from this addiction while households struggle to afford basic needs and over one billion people live with almost no modern energy. Africa alone is home to 600 million people without access to electricity.”

The 2023 Production Gap Report is produced by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Climate Analytics, E3G, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

More than 80 researchers, from over 30 countries, contributed to the analysis and review, spanning numerous universities, think tanks and other research organisations.