Takeaways from COP-26:Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
As the COP came to an end, there have been divergent views on what the conference achieved. The situation of climate change has been becoming alarming day by day with scientists around the world warning about rising climate and the frequency of natural disasters ruining many lives. On top of that many island countries have been complaining of the rising sea level.
Emphasized by the Tuvalu minister who gave his speech standing knee-deep in the ocean.[1] COP26 is part of the UNFCC organized conference of parties. In June 1992 154 countries signed an international environment treaty in Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro. The goal of the summits is to combat” dangerous human interference with the climate system”. Its secretariat is established in Bonn. The treaty calls for regular meetings, negotiations, ongoing scientific research and future policy agreements designed to enable development sustainably. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 and was the first implementation of the measures under UNFCC. It was superseded by the Paris Agreement which entered into force in 2016. COP, the highest decision-making body meets annually to assess the progress of nations following the agreements decided upon.
COP26 held in Glasgow was another such summit bringing together countries to accelerate the speed at which efforts need to be made to achieve the set goal. COP26 was hosted by Britain. With 197 countries as participants, the event lasted from 31 October 2021 to 12 November 2021.The prime task of the Glasgow conference was to negotiate ways to bring down emissions to reduce the warming of the Earth so that the temperature remains under 1.5°C. The target was set in the 2015 Paris Climate deal. The deal originally was set to make efforts to keep the temperature below 2°C. However, the urgency to hasten the efforts came after the IPCC panel released the 2018 report which underlined the damage that could happen if the temperature rises above the mentioned limit.
Climate Change is going to hurt everyone equally but when at the negotiating table nations only work for their self-interest. The biggest difference comes between the developed and developing countries. Developed countries have been passing over their deadlines to phase down the use of coal and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Developed countries are some of the biggest polluters. In the Paris Climate deal of 2015 countries decided for themselves what contributions they would make to achieve the aims of the treaty. These were called the nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The contributions would be set up every five years and were to be registered at the UNFCCC secretariat. The pandemic, however, ruined the timing and new deadlines were decided during the Glasgow meeting. The hope that countries will fulfil these deadlines is still low. But it is a step ahead.
Another major issue is of financing the poor countries to achieve the aim of removal of coal emissions. Poor countries, as well as developing countries, have been calling out the developed countries to release funds for actions necessary to achieve targets. Trillions of dollars are required every year. For instance, India said it needed $1trn over the next decade if it were to cut carbon and boost resilience more than it was already doing.[2] In 2019 it was decided by the rich countries club that they will raise 100bn dollars for poor countries to switch to renewable sources of energy by 2020. By 2019, however, only 90bn dollars would have been raised. This shortfall was highlighted repeatedly by poor countries during the Glasgow summit.[3] The pact has expressed “deep regrets” over the failure of the developed countries to deliver on their $100 billion promise.[4] Now the agreed date is 2023.
The issues in reaching an agreeable climate deal were on display during the Glasgow summit. All countries agreeing to a deal seemed impossible. That is exactly what happened when at the last minute intervention India changed the language of the agreement from “phasing out” to “phasing down”. Fossil Fuels supply 84 per cent of global energy, they are also the major pollutants, and India backed by China refused to completely cut down on emissions. China according to research by the Rhodium group emitted 27 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases.[5] That is more than the entire developed world combined. The US at 11 per cent was the second-largest emitter, India with 6.6 per cent standing at third. China, however, has vowed to reach net-zero emissions by 2060. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Glasgow speech only pledged for net zero carbon emissions by 2070. Even with all the big talk, they decided on phasing down coal power. This is realpolitik at play, states side line morality and common good for self-interest. Climate modelling shows that the world, on average, has to hit net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, and net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2070, he says, to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels — the most aspirational goal of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.[6] The goal remains out of reach if dedicated actions are not taken by states.
China, the US otherwise strategic competitors with differences and conflict on many issues decided to cooperate on climate change. US President John Biden climate envoy John Kerry visited China last month to meet his counterpart Xie Zhenhua to discuss how to work together despite diplomatic and bilateral tensions.[7] India, however, has shielded away from signing the global methane pledge at the summit, even though it is the third-largest emitter of methane gas in the world.
Over 100 countries also pledged to reduce methane emissions by at least thirty per cent. Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential nearly eighty times that of carbon dioxide over a 20 years.[8]
To fight the struggle against climate change and save our future generations, countries require to take action and not just summits. Climate change conferences need to be action-oriented, the big players that are the developed countries need to be more responsible. A fraction of what was visible in the summit, the developed countries will have to provide transparent information on the money that they are providing. The main emphasis of the conference was to discuss a way to implement the decisions taken in the Paris climate deal but not much was achieved. As appeared from the case of India, China and the US big countries are shielding way from their responsibilities. They are doing but not doing enough and passing on the responsibilities to future generations. IPCCC which guide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use in policymaking, have warned in its 2019 IPCCC reports if the agreement decided in the Paris Climate deal is to be achieved action need to be taken now. Countries need to achieve net-zero emission to secure themselves a chance of saving various species of crops, animals that might go extinct from the rising temperature around the world.
Notes
[1] Handley, Lucy (2021), “Pacific island minister films climate speech knee-deep in the ocean”, CNBC, Glasgow, 8 November 2021 https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/08/tuvalu-minister-gives-cop26-speech-knee-deep-in-the-ocean-to-highlight-rising-sea-levels.html
[2] The Economist, “Was COP26 in Glasgow a success?”, Glasgow, 14th November 2021 https://www.economist.com/international/2021/11/14/was-cop26-in-glasgow-a-success
[3] The Economist, “Was COP26 in Glasgow a success?”, Glasgow, 14th November 2021 https://www.economist.com/international/2021/11/14/was-cop26-in-glasgow-a-successhttps://www.economist.com/international/2021/11/14/was-cop26-in-glasgow-a-success
[4] Sinha, Amitabh (2021), “Explained: What COP26 achieved, didn’t”, The Indian Express, Glasgow, 16 November 2021. URL:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-key-takeaways-cop26-glasgow-climate-pact-7621847/
[5] BBC Group, “Report: China emissions exceed all developed nations combined”, 7th May. URL:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57018837
[6] Vaidyanathan, Gayathri (2021), “Scientists cheer India’s ambitious carbon-zero climate pledge”, Nature, Glasgow, 6th November 2021. URL:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03044-x
[7]BBC Group, “Report: China emissions exceed all developed nations combined”, 7th May. URL:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57018837 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57018837
[8] Sinha, Amitabh (2021), “Explained: What COP26 achieved, didn’t”, The Indian Express, Glasgow, 16 November 2021. URL:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-key-takeaways-cop26-glasgow-climate-pact-7621847/
Pic Courtsey-Ben Stern at unsplash.com
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
