A general view of Drax Power Station on March 02, 2020 in Selby, England. The station is the largest power station in the UK. It provides about 5% of the country's electricity and 12% of the country’s renewable power. The owner of the biomass and coal-fired plant has said that it expects to stop the use of coal at its Yorkshire power station in March 2021. Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Environment DenmarkNew Major Alliance Aims to Put a Stop to Fossil Fuels
Through their alliance of countries that are serious about getting rid of their production and consumption of fossil fuels, Denmark and Costa Rica are helping redefine climate leadership and putting pressure on uncooperative countries.
“The announcement of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) by Denmark and Costa Rica could mark a significant shift in global geopolitics on fossil fuels and climate,” says Alex Rafalowicz, director at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a group advocating for global agreements to end the production of fossil fuels.
Of the 60 countries that intend to reach zero emissions at some point, only six have set a target in their respective law so far. According to the International Energy Agency, fossil fuel exploration needs to stop by 2022 to meet the Paris Agreement’s target. For a country to join BOGA, it must fix firm targets regarding gas and oil production, and new exploration must be banned. If Costa Rica isn’t a fossil fuel producer, it is a leader in decarbonization with aggressive targets put in place. And Denmark, despite being one of the largest producers of oil in the European Union, became the second country to ban fossil fuel exploration and extraction. New Zealand is the latest country to contemplate joining the Alliance.
