COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, why it matters?
Few weeks later, if you haven't followed the COP26 it is time for a quick explanation.
As climate change continues to worsen with extreme weather events such as heatwaves, fires, floods, and droughts, what were the world leaders’ goals for the COP26 in November 2021?
Conference of Parties
COP (Conference of Parties) is the world’s main annual conference guided for hundreds of world leaders to negotiate and create strategies for tackling climate change. COP26 took place in Glasgow, Scotland, from Sunday 31st October to Friday 12th November 2021. This was the most important climate change meeting after COP21 in 2015, where more than 200 leaders signed the Paris Climate Agreement. It involved almost all countries to stop climate change and fight against its consequences on the environment.
Along with Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey are not attending the summit. The New York Times
In Paris, each nation promised to develop plans to reduce their carbon emissions and present their plans five years later, in the following COP26.
In the Paris Agreement, 191 countries promised to:
Stop the world’s average temperature rising more than 2 degrees, or ideally 1.5 °C.
Respond to climate change’s impacts through adaptation.
Make plans to deal with environmental loss and damages caused by climate change.
For wealthier nations to provide finance and technology to help poor and more vulnerable countries with climate change.
However, because of the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020, COP26 was delayed from 2020 to 2021. The last COP was in 2019 in Madrid, Spain.
Preparing for the unprecedent climate changes
Mitigation efforts will require extraordinary international attempts considering all spheres of human and ecological systems. Nowadays, the global temperature will keep increasing unless we maintain the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions scenarios on the limits suggested by the United Nations (UN). This rise in the temperature has accelerated the melting of the glaciers at a faster rate within the last 20 years. Thus, this melting of glaciers is leading to rising sea levels that will eventually flood coastal and low-lying land.
Agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions, especially in arid or semi-arid regions with large population concentrations, will menace the food security, livelihoods, and social cohesion of millions of people, being the developing countries the most vulnerable.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has assessed that the changing climate patterns will cause extreme and unprecedented weather events when they happen, at a larger magnitude, significant frequency and in places where it has not happened before, as well as in previously unseen scenarios.
The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. ipcc.ch
The IPCC is currently in its Sixth Assessment cycle, during which the IPCC will produce the Assessment reports of its three Working Groups, three Special Reports, a refinement to the methodology report and the Synthesis Report. The Synthesis Report will be the last of the AR6 products, due for release in 2022.
According to IPCC procedures the Synthesis Report (SYR) should “synthesise and integrate materials contained within the Assessment Reports and Special Reports” and “should be written in a non-technical style suitable for policymakers and address a broad range of policy-relevant but policy-neutral questions approved by the Panel”. It is composed of two parts, a Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of 5 to 10 pages and a Longer Report of 30 to 50 pages.
To understand more about the outcomes of COP26, we recommend reading the Report by Carbonbrief.org which we found well structured and looking at every aspect of it, or the Official Outcomes on the website of COP26 that can be found here.
Youth, Activism, "The power is in us, not the leader’s”
Most activists and civil organizations agree that the COP26 has failed, however, the civil movements have grown tremendously and we saw how collective actions can have a snowball effect.
“I believe in people power,” “And the power is in us, not the leaders.” Patience Nabukalu, a 24-year-old activist from Uganda, told CNBC as thousands gathered in George Square, Glasgow on Friday.
Many youth activists have been sharing their message at COP26, you can meet some of them here.
You can rewatch the coverage made by COP26 TV
‘If you want to know what is really going on at Cop26 without the blah, blah, blah, follow Cop26.tv.’ - Julie Christie
One of the most active movements around is Extinction Rebellion (Extinction Rebellion is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.). They released a HOPE video before the COP26 and message post-COP26:
Taking action towards sustainability
What can be done?
There is an urgent need to reduce our ecological footprint and decrease our consumption of fossil fuels, as well as accelerate the transition to clean and more efficient energy, reforming our human activities that are the most harmful to the environment such as the industries of transportation, production of electricity and food production. Indeed, we need to restructure our economic system into a Circular Economy, considering financial flows and environmental impacts.
How can we be part of the solution?
As GlocAllia, we are an organization aiming to build a gloCal impact-driven society, looking forward to co-creating with local people through the empowerment of communities and women. We aim to create sustainable development, focusing on resilience, equality, inclusivity, and sustainability to enhance a positive systemic change for Societies and our Planet to thrive.
Hence, we work with diverse social enterprises, development agencies, ecosystems builders in mature ecosystems or in developing countries, and through collaboration with local communities, we aim to stop social inequalities between the richest modern regions and others that are less fortunate. We believe in our citizens and organizations, sharing knowledge and networks globally can tackle this local challenge and replicate it where it is relevant. As we are all connected, we need a collective approach to make sure our people and planet thrive respecting our local cultures and environments.
As a result, we are committed to working toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030 proposed by the UN in 2015. For instance, we are committed to following up the COP26’s principal agreements and targets, such as:
1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach. Through our Food Systems’ Innovation Program, our goal is to contribute to the reduction of GHG and environmental impact caused by conventional agriculture, and transit to more sustainable agriculture practices.
2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats.
As the agricultural sector heavily relies on the climate, it is essential to protect and restore the natural ecosystems while ensuring food security.
3. Mobilize finance.
At a local level, we aim to boost local markets to enhance the local economy, creating jobs not only in a farming area but to promote and generate new types of works that are inclusive and fair.
4. Work together to deliver.
We believe in partnerships and co-creation to help People and Planet thrive, so we are engaged in taking action in collaboration with local communities, governments, businesses, and civil societies in all our programs: DREAMS Network and Food Systems Innovation.
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Resources:
BBC NEWS (2021). What is COP26 and why is it happening? Web page: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56901261
Greenpeace (2021). Everything you need to know about the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. Web page: https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/everything-need-to-know-cop26-climate-conference-glasgow/?source=GA&subsource=GOFRNAOAGA024K&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5oiMBhDtARIsAJi0qk0zKED89l854PYmFDokYsKUNybdyeewSRvlgTlRrbX6M-2yirQhGm4aApETEALw_wcB
UNFCC (2021). Glasgow climate change conference – October-November 2021. Web Page: https://unfccc.int/es/node/307746
UN UK (2021). UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE UK 2021. COP26 GOALS. Web page: https://ukcop26.org/cop26-goals/
UPM (2021). The science behind a clear and present danger. Web page: https://www.upm.com/articles/climate/21/the-science-behind-a-clear-and-present-danger/?utm_campaign=COP26_112021&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5oiMBhDtARIsAJi0qk2wbNQcN0UjIjkGWUMQAaNJWJluJ6LK-AfQ352IccGNcznfO5CnacgaAuqlEALw_wcB