By Peter Cripps at COP28 in Dubai
An agreement to treble investments in renewable energy and double investment in energy efficiency has made COP28 the most important UN climate summit for years, according to Pierre Abadie, group climate director at impact investor Tikehau Capital.
The deal at COP28 also agreed targets for energy efficiency to be doubled by 2030, to be achieved via an increase of investment in transport, circular economy, improved building insulation, heat pumps and electric motors.
Paris-based Abadie told Environmental Finance at COP28 that he is encouraged by the announcement because it should lead to an increase in investment, resulting in real-world change.
“This is the most important COP since Paris,” he said. “The [renewables deal] is pledging an output, which is much more understandable than an emissions reduction pledge.
“This is a big step to move towards a pledge [to reduce warming to below 2°C] which was aspirational. Now we have something that will put things into action.”
He said the deal is important because it can steer capital towards technologies that have been proven to work and can reduce emissions this decade, whereas COPs often focus on technologies such as green hydrogen that have not yet been built at scale.
“It changes our way of thinking [because] it shows we are now focused on 2030,” he argued.
He added that COPs were important because they bring different types of stakeholders together, such as youths, activists, the public sector and NGOs.