Simon Jessop, Kate Abnett

GLASGOW (Reuters). During the U.N. Climate Conference in Glasgow, Thursday, government representatives will focus their efforts on tackling the world’s dependence to fossil fuels. A raft of new promises will be made to curb production and usage of oil and gas as well as coal.

These announcements will help accelerate a shift to cleaner energy, which scientists and leaders around the world believe is urgently needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent severe consequences from climate change.

The pledges may also be a reminder of the lingering differences between rich nations that want to end the use of dirty fuels in the industrial revolution and developing countries which rely heavily on fossil fuels for growth.

Among those announced were Chile, Vietnam and Poland. They are also expected to promise to stop using coal-fuelled power generation. This is in line with a deal that the British host of the COP26 summit said would provide 190 countries and organizations with the commitment to quiting the fuel.

However, it was unclear if countries like India, Indonesia, Turkey and China would be included in the agreement. These nations have numerous coal-power developments. China announced in September it will stop financing overseas coal plants. But, this pledge didn’t cover domestic projects.

According to two sources familiar with talks, the summit will include at least 19 nations that have committed to halting public financing of fossil fuel projects in other countries by 2014.

Other countries may also join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. It is led by Denmark and Costa Rica. The members of the alliance are committed to eliminating fossil fuel production in their borders. However, it won’t officially launch until next week.

The main goal of the COP26 talks was to make national pledges to reduce greenhouse gases mainly from coal, oil, and gas. These promises should be enough to stop the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. These pledges are still in process, with particular attention to the developing world.

The world produces around 37% of its electricity from coal, which is a cost-effective, plentiful fuel that can be found in large quantities throughout the country. This means that coal dominates power production in South Africa, Poland, India, and other countries like South Africa.

Mark Carney (UN climate representative) stated that reaching international climate goals will cost $100 trillion. In addition, he called upon the financial industry to provide private funding to support what state efforts.

Banks, investors, and insurers with $130 trillion pledged Wednesday to combat climate change. This week, world leaders pledged that they would stop deforestation by the close of this decade and reduce methane emissions.