What is Cop26 and why is it important?

From 31 October to 12 November, the UK hosted a climate summit in Glasgow. This meeting was seen as crucial to an organised, international response, especially after the revelations from the IPCC report earlier in the year.

Extra Info: UNIPCC Report

This report, released in summer 2021, was created by 234 scientists from 66 countries. The report is, as the Secretary General of the UN António Guterres put it, a “code red for humanity”.

The report highlights that the main driver of climate change are human activities and that some of the effects are now irreversible.

It also outlines that any further increase in CO2 will determine the increase in the severity of the impacts of climate change.

So, what is a COP?

The abbreviation COP stands for ‘conference of the parties’ and is a meeting where governments get together to discuss how to avoid climate breakdown and address the climate crisis. There have already been COP conferences, in fact, COP 26, as the name shows, is the 26th annual summit. One of the best-known previous COP meetings is COP 21 which took place in Paris in 2015 and resulted in the Paris Agreement.

Extra information: The Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement was a landmark international agreement in which countries agreed to seriously address the climate crisis. In it, they agreed to:

• Limit global temperature rise by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Provide a framework for the achievement of more ambitious targets.

• Mobilize support for climate change in developing nations.

What was on the agenda for this COP?

The COP26 website outlined 4 targets for the conference:

“Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach”

The goal was to encourage countries to come up with more ambitious 2030 NDCs that will contribute to bringing carbon emissions down to net zero by 2050.

Key Term: NDCs

NDCs stand for Nationally Determined Contributions and are what each country, individually, sets out as its plan to reduce carbon emissions and to address climate change.

“Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats.”

The goal is to help countries agree with frameworks and ways to mitigate and address the climate crisis. This can be through restoring ecosystems as well as placing early warning systems.

“Mobilise finance.”

In previous COPs, developed countries had agreed to financially aid countries who were already experiencing the impacts of climate change. However, the 2020 target of $100 billion annual fund for adapting economies fell short by nearly 50%, according to Oxfam.

This target aims to make developed countries deliver on their promise as well as putting climate finance on the table.

Key Term: Climate Finance.

Defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Standing Committee on Finance:

“finance that aims at reducing emissions and enhancing sinks of greenhouse gases and aims at reducing vulnerability of, and maintaining and increasing the resilience of, human and ecological systems to negative climate change impacts”.

“Work together to deliver.”

The final target is twofold. One part is to finalize the Paris rulebook, the rules needed to implement the Paris Agreement, and the other is to encourage cooperation not just between countries, but also including the private sector as well as civil society.

Who’s in charge of COP26?

The president for COP26 is a conservative MP Alok Sharma, appointed in February 2020. The COP president’s role was to be in charge of encouraging and streamlining the process of negotiations.

Key Moment: Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s speech at the opening of COP26. Mia Motley seemed to catch the mood of everyone who is striving for governments to finally act, and act decisively, on climate change. Here are some of her most thought provoking quotes:

• “These commitments, made by some, are based on technologies yet to be developed, and this is at best reckless and at worst dangerous.”

• “When will leaders lead?”

• “For those who have eyes to see, for those who have ears to listen and for those who have a heart to feel, 1.5 degrees is what we need to survive.”

This speech set the tone for the rest of the COP.

What was agreed and achieved in the final COP26 Pact? The Agreement covered several important themes. It set out ways to address and mitigate them: Emissions NDCs:

• 153 countries put forward new 2030 emissions targets (NDCs).

• Countries have agreed to meet next year, at COP27 in Egypt, to set out new strengthened NDCs in order to further mitigate carbon dioxide emissions.

• COP26 also finalised the Paris rulebook which allows the Paris Agreement to be fully implemented.

Projected decrease in emissions:

• Before the Paris Agreement, scientists said that global temperatures could rise by 6°C.

• After the Paris Agreement, the pledges decreased this to 2.3 – 2.7°C.

• If the pledges made in Glasgow are all fully implemented, global temperatures are projected to remain under 2°C.

Coal and Fossil fuel subsidies Coal is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions. After COP26, 65 countries have now committed to coal phase out, including more than 20 new commitments at COP26. At COP26, 34 countries and 5 public finance institutions committed to end direct public support, around $24 billion annually, for the international fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022.

190 countries have now agreed to phase down coal by 2030.

A COP Milestone:

COP26 delivered the first references to ‘phasing-down coal power’ and ending fossil fuel subsidies in 26 years.

Climate Finance According to the final agreement: “International partners have mobilised over $20 billion for a just and inclusive transition from coal to clean energy.” This includes the creation of a new $10 billion energy fund called the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. It aims to bring reliable renewable electricity to a billion people by 2030 and avoid 4 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. Other agreements struck during the summit.

• An agreement between the US and China was struck where they pledged to cooperate more on solving the climate crisis and reducing their emissions.

• 130 countries pledged to stop deforestation by 2030.

• More than 100 countries pledged to a scheme to cut down methane emissions by more than 30% by 2030.

• However, China, Russia and India, the biggest emitters, did not join.

• Financial organisations controlling $130 trillion agreed to back renewable energy and other clean technologies while directing finance away from fossil fuel-burning industries.
  

Is it enough?

Many activists will tell you it isn’t. In fact, it could have been more. There was a lot of controversy about China and India’s intervention at the last minute to change the language in the agreement from ‘phasing out’ coal to ‘phasing down’.

Although being “deeply sorry” about the way negotiations had ended, Alok Sharma said he “wouldn’t describe what we did yesterday as a failure - it is a historic achievement.”

According to the BBC, many believe that COP26 has not done enough to make change happen fast enough. The green option is still not the most affordable option. Businesses and consumers still invest and buy cheaper and more polluting options.

According to the Guardian, the first saw deals in everything from methane to finance while businesses and countries also committing themselves to keeping at 1.5°C. However, they also point out that many people are saddened by the lack of funding for loss and damages for developing countries already struggling with the impact of the climate crisis.

“In our view COP26 was all about setting ambitions. The acid test will be how quickly these are implemented. The time now is to really roll up the sleeves and put these pledges into practice.”

COP26 is another step towards a greener future. Instead of in 5 years’ time, at COP27 next year in Egypt, countries are expected to return with more ambitious NDCs.