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COP26
Published December 20, 2021
In Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 13, 2021, the UK hosted the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26). This annual summit consisted of world leaders, registered delegates, government representatives, businesses, and civil society groups to represent 194 countries to collectively negotiate plans on tackling the climate crisis. It was the largest COP in history.
What made COP26 the most historic world leaders summit to date was the sheer urgency many felt after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a warning in its 6th assessment report a few months prior to the summit. Renowned as the world’s foremost authority on the science of climate change, the IPCC claims global temperatures have risen by 1.1°C since the start of the Industrial Revolution. By the year 2100, the rise in global temperatures will equate to 2°C.
But just how bad would it be if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees since pre-industrial levels? Weather patterns would be unpredictable, primary crops would drown in unbearable floods, storms would devastate those living in low-lying and small-island states. Fragile ecosystems like coral reefs—so valuable to smaller marine life and local communities—will die out.
Shutting down every system contributing to global warming at this very second would be catastrophic to the livelihoods of billions of people. We would grow hungry and cold. We would lose money and connections. We would be lost, more than ever.
A seamless transition to clean energy, without jeopardizing the lives of those suffering the most from climate change, stands at the forefront of COP26. For the course of two weeks, after so much deliberation on reducing emissions, discussing funds, across all the pledges every country signed, the Glasgow Climate Pact was born.
The Glasgow Climate Pact
Setting our goals to achieve net-zero emissions by the time global temperatures rise to 1.5°C will give countries a realistic timeframe to plan effectively without affecting our standard of living, and the effects of global warming at 1.5°C will be far less consequential than 2°C.
Note
To keep 1.5 degrees alive means to follow through with the commitments made to achieve net-zero emissions by the time global temperatures rise by 1.5°C. Participants at COP26 have used the phrase so frequently it has now become jargon.
Coal
Coal is the largest contributor to climate change. To stand any chance at limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees, countries must stop the creation of new coal power plants and scale up clean power to the point where we can safely retire—or “phase out”—existing coal power plants without running the risk of an energy shortage.
Based on the negotiations made at COP26 and of past COPs, 65 countries have now committed to phase out coal and scale up clean energy, including all major coal financing countries that have committed to end international coal finance by the end of 2021. Even today we can see change is already in motion: the development of new coal power plants has fallen by 76% since the Paris Agreement of 2016.
Although coal is the largest contributor of CO2, phasing out all other uses of fossil fuels in the energy sector is critical to keeping 1.5 degrees alive. This information was so intimately held that 34 countries and 5 public finance institutions have committed to end financing for new international fossil fuel extraction and the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022.
Methane
COP26 was the first annual summit to discuss an effective plan to reduce methane emissions, which come from oil, gas, waste, and agricultural industries. Over 100 countries signed the Global Methane Pledge, committing to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This includes some of the world’s largest methane emitters, such as the United States, Brazil, European Union, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Argentina.
Given how methane can be more than 25 times worse than CO2 in heat retention, the Global Methane Pledge will play a crucial role in keeping 1.5 degrees alive; it now covers 46% of all global methane emissions.
Reforestation
137 countries signed the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land, pledging to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation, conserve coastal wetlands and peatlands, and protect all other precious natural habitats within its political boundaries by 2030. This pledge now covers 91% of the world’s natural habitats.
Electric Vehicles
The COP26 Declaration on Accelerating the Transition to 100% Zero Emission Cars and Vans is a pledge to collaboratively work toward 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) production by 2035. Over 35 countries, 6 major carmakers (including Fiat, Ford, and Volkswagen), 43 cities, states and regions, 28 fleet owners, and 15 financial institutions and investors have signed this pledge.
The Ocean
Oceans have undergone extensive change from global warming. Greenhouse gasses dissolve through an ocean’s surface, trapping infrared radiation from the sun and reflecting it in all directions. The CO2 that dissolves into an ocean not only raises its temperature, but also its acidity. This rise in ocean acidity can upset the balance of minerals that aquatic species rely on. As ocean temperatures rise, warmer waters encourage stronger storms that can be destructive to the inhabitants of tropical islands.
Not much has been discussed on oceans at COP26 since they are more resilient to climate change. Though parties have agreed to integrate an annual dialogue on the ocean in future UN climate processes.
Funding
Getting to net-zero emissions will require trillions of dollars, and the UN acknowledges that developing countries will be struggling the most with implementing clean energy. As president of COP26, the UK has organized an action for wealthier nations to support developing countries with their own needs to reduce emissions. By 2023, 95% of the largest developed countries of the UN will have raised $100 billion for all those who need financing to adhere to the commitments made at COP26 and past COPs.
The Breakthrough Agenda
Over 40 of the largest countries, accounting for 70% of global GDP, have endorsed the Breakthrough Agenda, where they will work together to provide solutions for four emitting sectors by 2030:
Adaptation and Loss
Along the way, as countries try to transition toward cleaner energy, losses will ensue. It’s unlikely rising global temperatures will be directly fatal to us, but when existing infrastructure, bridges, and modes of public transportation have yet to be maintained to resist the effect of global warming, they can threaten the lives of millions.
Over the last year, 80 countries have now submitted a national plan to minimize damages to infrastructure and reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change to avoid losses of life. One of the most notable organizations in financing for adaptation and loss, the Champions Group on Adaptation Finance projects to raise $12.7 billion for strengthening resilience in vulnerable communities by 2025.
Overview
The negotiations made at COP26 would not be just if they weren’t inclusive of a wide diversity of voices. To assure this, the Glasgow presidency encourages all parties to increase recognition of the roles and equal participation of women and indigenous peoples in climate action, as well as extending its accessibility to younger individuals.
COP26 means absolutely nothing if countries do not commit to the pledges they’ve signed. If most countries do not meet their goals by 2030, the pressure of an ever-worsening climate will fall on their shoulders with greater degree each year. Considering just how multilateral the issue has become, countries participating in climate action may refuse to trade with others that fail to acknowledge the climate crisis. Whether or not some world leaders care about the climate crisis, they must consider how their decisions on the issue will affect their relations with other countries, which ultimately gives them more reason to hop on the climate-action bandwagon.
Tackling climate change will be a long endeavor, so long that many will fear that countries are lacking the effort to mitigate its effect on the world. COP26 not only stands as a formal delegation to announce who is doing what, why it matters and how they’ll execute their plans, it’s to show that so many of the world’s most powerful voices care.
One hundred ninety four of the world’s nations care.