The chasm between the action needed to avert the worst of the climate crisis and what is actually happening is stark, but that does not mean there is no action taking place. On Thursday at Cop27, the rocketing sales of electric cars were set out in a report from BloombergNEF.
The key points:
Annual electric car sales are on track to exceed 10m in 2022, up more than 60% year on year and more than triple the 3.1m sold in 2020.
More than 13% of new cars sold globally in the first half of 2022 were electric, up from 8.7% in 2021, and 4.3% in 2020.
Electric vehicle use in 2022 will avoid the burning of 1.7m barrels of oil per day - more than the total oil consumption of France or Mexico, both G20 economies.
#cop27 - Some good news - Over 13% of new cars sold globally in the first half of 2022 were electric, up from 8.7% in 2021, and 4.3% in 2020.
— Damian Carrington (@dpcarrington) November 18, 2022
From @BloombergNEF report published at Cop27https://t.co/Q7V2JAW7q0 pic.twitter.com/B0JcnzwZOU
This exponential growth suggests a tipping point is being passed, leading to the runaway adoption of electric cars. They are cheaper to own overall than petrol or diesel cars and within a few years will cost less to buy as well, supercharging their growth.
Alok Sharma, the Cop26 president, says in the foreword to the report: “The [electric vehicle] transition is key to permanently ending our dependence on oil.”
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Youth activists have a Friday climate strike
Young activists have finished a Friday climate strike marking the last formal day, marching down one of the pavilions outside the centres where negotiations are still taking place holding banners with slogans including “Don’t just say it, pay it!”
For the first time youth organisations including Fridays for Future, Youngo, Polluters Out, Latina for Climate and Start:Empowerment have issued a joint closing demand – on loss and reparations.
“The division between the two sides has been clear; the highest polluters have continued to block and delay the bare minimum funding through poor climate finance mechanisms such as the global shield,” said Fatemah Sultan, from Fridays for Future Pakistan. “Coming from a country like mine, Pakistan, which does not even emit 1% of global emissions, we are not here talking about the loss and damages of tomorrow, we are talking about the ones from my yesterday, my today and my tomorrow.”
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