Everything at stake as world gathers for climate talks
COP26 will be the fifth COP since COP21 in Paris in 2015, when the Paris Agreement climate treaty was agreed
Tribune Desk
Publish : 30 Oct 2021, 11:10 PMUpdate : 23 Dec 2021, 05:01 PM
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, kicks off on Sunday, with world leaders and delegates from all over the world flying into Scotland's port city of Glasgow to attend.
The United Kingdom is hosting this year’s event, and is hoping to make real progress in the journey towards net zero carbon emissions and keeping global warming below 1.5°C.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted it is “touch and go” whether the conference will be a success.
He also caused unease among environmentalists by appearing to underplay the importance of recycling in helping to tackle climate change.
“Recycling isn’t the answer, I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said. “You’re not going to like this. It doesn’t begin to address the problem. You can only recycle plastic a couple of times, really.
“What you’ve got to do is stop the production of plastic. Stop the first use of plastic. The recycling thing is a red herring. We’ve all got to cut down on our use of plastic.”
British officials are hoping COP26 will go down in history as a similarly successful meeting, delivering fresh pledges from countries to cut carbon emission further and faster than ever before.
After British Queen Elizabeth pulled out, the summit is scheduled to begin with Prince Charles’s opening address.
The Queen, who recently spent a night in hospital for “preliminary examinations,” is following medical advice to recuperate for at least the next two weeks, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
The British prime minister, who will preside over a COP26 summit of more than 120 leaders on Monday and Tuesday, warned of the existential stakes at play as he conducted a round of interviews in Rome's ancient Colosseum.
The Roman Empire ultimately collapsed and the Dark Ages followed in Europe. "It's important to remember things can get dramatically worse," he told Channel 4.
The climate summit is due to end on November 12.
The agenda
COP26 will be the fifth COP since COP21 in Paris in 2015, when the Paris Agreement climate treaty was agreed. The Paris Agreement saw countries sign treaties promising to strive towards keeping warming under 1.5°C.
The five-year anniversary is important, as the agreement states that every five years countries must revisit their promises and, if possible, increase their ambitions.
The world has failed in keeping warming to 1.5°C in the past five years. This figure is considered key, as a major study released in 2018 by the world’s top climate scientists revealed warming beyond0 1.5°C would be much more devastating than previously thought.
Rich and poor nations alike would suffer significantly under this level of warming, scientists warned, with coral reefs wiped out, Arctic sea ice disappearing, and widespread droughts, floods and heatwaves impacting the lives of millions of people.
‘Illusion’ by big emitters
Reluctance among major carbon polluters, including China, India and Australia, to embrace stronger plans to reduce their planet-warming emissions has dented hopes for an ambitious outcome from the climate summit.
A slew of national announcements just before the two-week COP26 talks kick off has done little to advance efforts to meet global warming limits, which are set to be smashed without far steeper emissions cuts, analysts said.
China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, on Thursday submitted an updated set of contributions to the UN climate body that were widely seen as offering nothing new compared with earlier pledges from its leader.
Other big players, including Australia and India, have also fallen short, while uncertainties remain around whether US President Joe Biden can get approval for domestic legislation vital to his climate plans ahead of the COP26 conference.
The COP26 conference is billed as the last major chance to galvanize the collective effort needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, with scientists calling for emissions to be cut by nearly half by 2030 to achieve that.
Two UN reports warned this week that the world is "way off track" to cap rising temperatures, with current pledges set to result in an average 2.7°C temperature increase this century.
Everything at stake as world gathers for climate talks
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, kicks off on Sunday, with world leaders and delegates from all over the world flying into Scotland's port city of Glasgow to attend.
The United Kingdom is hosting this year’s event, and is hoping to make real progress in the journey towards net zero carbon emissions and keeping global warming below 1.5°C.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted it is “touch and go” whether the conference will be a success.
He also caused unease among environmentalists by appearing to underplay the importance of recycling in helping to tackle climate change.
“Recycling isn’t the answer, I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said. “You’re not going to like this. It doesn’t begin to address the problem. You can only recycle plastic a couple of times, really.
“What you’ve got to do is stop the production of plastic. Stop the first use of plastic. The recycling thing is a red herring. We’ve all got to cut down on our use of plastic.”
British officials are hoping COP26 will go down in history as a similarly successful meeting, delivering fresh pledges from countries to cut carbon emission further and faster than ever before.
After British Queen Elizabeth pulled out, the summit is scheduled to begin with Prince Charles’s opening address.
The Queen, who recently spent a night in hospital for “preliminary examinations,” is following medical advice to recuperate for at least the next two weeks, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
The British prime minister, who will preside over a COP26 summit of more than 120 leaders on Monday and Tuesday, warned of the existential stakes at play as he conducted a round of interviews in Rome's ancient Colosseum.
The Roman Empire ultimately collapsed and the Dark Ages followed in Europe. "It's important to remember things can get dramatically worse," he told Channel 4.
The climate summit is due to end on November 12.
The agenda
COP26 will be the fifth COP since COP21 in Paris in 2015, when the Paris Agreement climate treaty was agreed. The Paris Agreement saw countries sign treaties promising to strive towards keeping warming under 1.5°C.
The five-year anniversary is important, as the agreement states that every five years countries must revisit their promises and, if possible, increase their ambitions.
The world has failed in keeping warming to 1.5°C in the past five years. This figure is considered key, as a major study released in 2018 by the world’s top climate scientists revealed warming beyond0 1.5°C would be much more devastating than previously thought.
Rich and poor nations alike would suffer significantly under this level of warming, scientists warned, with coral reefs wiped out, Arctic sea ice disappearing, and widespread droughts, floods and heatwaves impacting the lives of millions of people.
‘Illusion’ by big emitters
Reluctance among major carbon polluters, including China, India and Australia, to embrace stronger plans to reduce their planet-warming emissions has dented hopes for an ambitious outcome from the climate summit.
A slew of national announcements just before the two-week COP26 talks kick off has done little to advance efforts to meet global warming limits, which are set to be smashed without far steeper emissions cuts, analysts said.
China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, on Thursday submitted an updated set of contributions to the UN climate body that were widely seen as offering nothing new compared with earlier pledges from its leader.
Other big players, including Australia and India, have also fallen short, while uncertainties remain around whether US President Joe Biden can get approval for domestic legislation vital to his climate plans ahead of the COP26 conference.
The COP26 conference is billed as the last major chance to galvanize the collective effort needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, with scientists calling for emissions to be cut by nearly half by 2030 to achieve that.
Two UN reports warned this week that the world is "way off track" to cap rising temperatures, with current pledges set to result in an average 2.7°C temperature increase this century.
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