Over 110 Countries Set to Join COP28 Deal to Triple Renewable Energy

 Delegates walk past flag posts at the Dubai's Expo City after attending the World Climate Action Summit, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)
Delegates walk past flag posts at the Dubai's Expo City after attending the World Climate Action Summit, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)
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Over 110 Countries Set to Join COP28 Deal to Triple Renewable Energy

 Delegates walk past flag posts at the Dubai's Expo City after attending the World Climate Action Summit, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)
Delegates walk past flag posts at the Dubai's Expo City after attending the World Climate Action Summit, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)

A pledge to triple the world's installed renewable energy by 2030 is poised to win support from more than 110 countries at the COP28 climate summit on Saturday, with some pushing to make the deal global by the end of the UN conference.

The European Union, United States and COP28 host the United Arab Emirates have been rallying support for the pledge as a means to the sharp drop in planet-warming emissions needed this decade to avoid unleashing more severe climate change.

"More than 110 countries have joined already," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the COP28 summit on Thursday of the renewables pledge. "I call now on all of us to include these targets in the final COP decision."

Whether governments and companies will rally the huge investments needed to hit the goal is an open question. While deployment of renewables like solar and wind has been surging globally for years, rising costs, labor constraints and supply chain issues have forced project delays and cancellations in recent months, costing developers like Orsted and BP billions of dollars in writedowns.

Getting the deal into the final UN climate summit decision would also require consensus among the nearly 200 countries present. While China and India have signaled support for tripling global renewable energy by 2030, neither has confirmed it will back the overall pledge - which pairs the ramp-up in clean power with a reduction in fossil fuel use.

South Africa, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile and Barbados are among the countries already on board, officials told Reuters.

The renewables pledge will be among several other energy-related announcements at COP28 on Saturday, including new measures and funding to combat methane emissions, agreements to cut coal use and the promotion of nuclear energy.

Phase out?

A central decision facing nations at COP28 is whether to agree, for the first time, to gradually "phase out" global consumption of fossil fuels. Burning coal, oil and gas to produce energy is the main cause of climate change.

A draft of the renewable energy pledge, seen by Reuters, called for "the phase down of unabated coal power" and ending the financing of new coal-fired power plants.

Tripling clean sources like wind and solar and doubling energy savings would deliver 85% of the cuts in fossil fuel use needed this decade to meet global climate goals, according to an analysis by think-tank Ember.

The goals will add to pressure on wealthy nations and international financial institutions to unleash the massive investments needed to hit 11,000 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030 - in particular, by reducing the high cost of capital that has stymied renewable energy projects in Africa and other developing nations.

"The mismatch still exists between our potentiality and our limitations to attract investment," said Najib Ahmed, a consultant at Somalia's climate ministry.

Africa receives just 2% of global investments in renewable energy. Somalia has the highest onshore wind power potential of any African country, yet one of the lowest electrification rates in the continent, according to the International Energy Agency.



Mali Gold Production Plunges 23% in 2024

Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)
Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)
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Mali Gold Production Plunges 23% in 2024

Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)
Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)

Mali's industrial gold production plunged 23% to 51 metric tons last year from 66.5 tons in 2023, the West African country's mines ministry said.

Mali is one of Africa's top gold producers and home to industrial mines operated by international companies including Barrick Gold, B2Gold Corp, Resolute Mining and Hummingbird Resources.

A ministry document showed on Friday that the output number excludes Barrick Gold's December production following the company's dispute with Mali's military-led government related to a mining law introduced in 2023.

Barrick suspended operations at its Loulo-Gounkoto operation last month after authorities seized its gold reserves by helicopter. Four of its employees have been detained since November on charges including money laundering and financing of terrorism, which the company denies.

Mali's new mining code, which raises taxes and seeks to hand over big stakes in assets to the state, makes it uneconomic to invest in new mines or buy operations in the country, several mining chief executives told Reuters this week.

Mali's government says mining companies including Barrick have not been paying their fair share of taxes.

According to the ministry document, Mali's gold production fell below 60 tons for the first time in over three years.

It would stand at 52.7 tons if Barrick met its December forecast of 1.7 tons, the ministry's monthly estimates showed.

The ministry did not provide an explanation for the drop in production.

An official from the mines ministry told Reuters the government's conflict with mining companies could be the reason for the lower output. The sector faces a crisis of confidence after authorities demanded foreign companies migrate to the new mining code and arrested employees and executives, the official added.

According to the ministry's data, Barrick Gold remains the country's biggest gold producer, with an output of 19.4 tons in 2024 excluding December production, followed by B2Gold at 13.7 tons and Resolute Mining at 7.2 tons.

With an estimated 6 tons produced in artisanal mines, Mali's total gold production in 2024 is expected to reach 58.7 tons, the mines ministry said.