By Ian Lieblich, Head of ESG, Avani
COP29 has come and gone with frustration and some important breakthroughs on climate finance and carbon markets. While nations like the UK and UAE submitted new targets that are consistent with a 1.5°C future, there is still much work to be done.
A shadow hanging over the conference was the recent US election, with concerns about a Trump administration potentially rolling back the IRA, having withdrawn from the Paris Agreement in 2017 . While the US election result was certainly a topic of discussion among attendees, I couldn’t help but contrast this to the same occasion eight years ago, when his surprise victory marked a turning point at 2016’s COP22 in Marrakech.
I recall waking up to those overnight results with a sense of disbelief and uncertainty, sharing quiet moments of solidarity with delegates as we made our way into the conference venue. Those few days passed in a blur, with a collective fear that the achievement of the Paris Agreement, reached only a year previously, had been jeopardised by events outside of delegates’ control. The US delegation was – as you’d imagine – particularly inconsolable on what became “hug an American” day.
But this time felt different. Less panic. Less shock. And crucially, more hope.
I think it’s due to the remarkable progress we’ve witnessed over the past eight years. Cheap solar and wind, cheap batteries, climate disclosure, nature and biodiversity, EVs everywhere, climate finance, and emerging technologies becoming common place, on the transition to a safe, carbon-zero future. Even if the US withdraws their leadership, the speed of China’s renewable energy revolution – as the excellent work from Tim Buckley and the team at Climate Energy Finance will attest to – provides a degree of hope that was absent in 2016.
Locally, political climate wars are (almost) at an end, mandatory disclosure is here, and renewable energy comprises 37% of Australia’s electricity supply, compared to 17% in 2016. And while our grid continues to green in pursuit of our 82% by 2030 target, we are reaching a critical juncture where the need for greater demand side measures is needed for an orderly transition.
It is here where the energy transition overlaps with emerging technologies – including the ones we are lucky to be involved with at Avani – which will see demand and response, load shifting and Virtual Power Plants become more common as we switch to a disaggregated, sophisticated energy system, aligning carbon and cost for a safer future.
So, while COP wasn’t the panacea capable of solving the climate crisis, that was never going to be the case. Rather, we can infer the resilience and pace of change from its resilience to shocks, and that perhaps, is the greatest cause for hope of all.
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With almost 10 years’ experience working in ESG within the property sector, Ian Lieblich utilises his intelligent insights and policy knowledge to inform and implement sustainable practices for Avani and our clients.
His extensive industry engagement includes previously sitting on the PCA’s Sustainability Committee, ANREV’s Sustainability Committee, the City of Sydney’s Better Buildings Partnership, the IGCC’s Policy & Advocacy Working Group and the UNEPFI’s TCFD and Real Estate Working Groups. He also serves as Head of ESG at EG Funds.