COP26 kicked off in Glasgow this morning, under unparallelled pressure to unite behind an ambitious platform to ensure GHGs do not rise above 1.5 degrees C, provide financing to the global south, phase out coal, and make the shift to clean energy future.
“We stand at a pivotal point in history,” said Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC executive secretary. “We either choose to achieve rapid and large-scale reductions of emissions to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C - or we accept that humanity faces a bleak future on this planet.
”Success at COP26 is entirely possible. Success is possible because we have the platform for action. The Paris Agreement is a covenant of hope with humanity. We either choose to achieve rapid and large-scale reductions of emissions to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C - or we accept that humanity faces a bleak future on this planet.“
Meetings throughout the two weeks can be viewed live or via archived webcasts. (Watch this morning's open plenary here.)
The New York Times reports on what to expect out of this COP, noting that the developing countries most devastated by climate change are “holding out for money promised, and yet to be delivered, by the industrialized nations that fueled the crisis. Polluting countries are pressing each other to cut their emissions while jockeying for advantage and wrestling with the impacts on their own economies.”
The science is clear on what needs to be done. Emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases driving up global temperatures need to be cut by nearly half by 2030, less than a decade. In fact, they are continuing to grow. The World Meteorological Organization warned last week that the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere had reached a record high in 2020 despite the pandemic and is rising again this year.
Resources
Official UNFCCC website (for streaming events, agendas, background information
Official COP26 website
COP26 on Twitter
UN Report: Updated Climate Commitments Ahead of COP26 Summit Fall Far Short, but Net-Zero Pledges Provide Hope
Sunday, Oct 31, 2021 · 7:36:39 PM +00:00
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boatsie
According to Climate Central, an independent organization of scientists and journalists reporting on climate change, “today, the global average temperature sits at 1.26°C (2.27°F) higher than in 1850. And current stated policies put us on a path toward 2.6°C (4.7°F) of warming by 2100—overshooting the Paris Agreement goal of 2°C. This is why COP26 is so important. In order to reach our global goal, each country needs to continually adopt—and implement—more-ambitious emission-reduction plans.”
It is of dire importance that countries put their differences aside and work together on setting goals to combat climate change. But more importantly, take action on said goals so that we can look back and say we did everything we could, with the information at hand, to save the world.