COP26 draft agreement calls on countries to phase out coal, fossil fuels

(Washington Post, 11/10/2021)

Transport, which accounts for a fifth of global emissions, is the official theme of COP26 today. To mark the occasion, a coalition of countries, states, cities and automakers signed an agreement to make all new vehicles zero emission by 2040 or sooner.

• The agreement covers nearly 15 percent of the global car market, or about 11.5 million vehicles, according to its backers.
• The pact includes Ford and General Motors, two of America’s largest car companies. GM has already said it “aspires” to sell only electric vehicles by 2035. Toyota and Volkswagen, two other major automakers, declined to join.
• Other signatories include India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Mercedes-Benz and Uber.
• While the United States did not sign the deal, two states — Washington and California — came on board. California is the nation’s largest car market and already leads the country in electric vehicle sales.

Josh Miller, manager of the Modeling Center at the International Council on Clean Transportation, told The Climate 202 that “India’s signing of the Glasgow declaration is significant, since it is the fourth largest vehicle market worldwide, and carbon dioxide emissions from road transport in India could more than double by 2050 without further policy action.”