The largest climate event, the COP26 Climate Negotiations, will begin in Glasgow on October 31. At the 26th Annual Congress, delegations from more than 190 countries will discuss how to tackle the global climate crisis, how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, most importantly, how to encourage governments to take responsibility for and counter the crisis caused by humanity.
What will happen there, what issues will be discussed? We’ve found a brilliant review by eco-expert Anna Ackermann. Let’s check it.
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties will occur from 31 October to 13 November in Glasgow, Scotland. Within two weeks, representatives of more than 190 countries will once again try to agree on unresolved or postponed issues on implementing the Paris Agreement and the fight against climate change. The meeting in Glasgow is called a test of solidarity between rich and poor countries and the most critical climate event in the last six years. Let’s take a closer look at what negotiations are all about, why they matter, and what to expect from them.
What is COP26?
It all started with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force in 1994. Under this environmental agreement, most countries worldwide have agreed to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a safe level. All signatories to the convention began to meet annually at the so-called Conference of Parties (COP) to discuss mechanisms for combating climate change and evaluate the steps taken. The first such meeting of the parties took place in Berlin in 1995 and was called COP1, and the 26th meeting (COP26) will be held in Glasgow.
The primary purpose of the conferences is to agree on legal mechanisms that would ensure the accountability of governments for actions that lead to climate change. As the name implies, the UNFCCC only outlines the general principles of cooperation. To implement them, it is necessary to implement specific mechanisms and tools that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first such mechanisms were enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and now countries are preparing new ones – already under the Paris Agreement.
During the negotiations, official delegations of countries – usually government representatives – in open and closed meetings try to reach a consensus on many controversial issues. For example, small island nations are fighting for the right to receive sufficient financial resources from developed countries to adapt to climate change, as their islands are gradually disappearing as the world’s oceans rise. Representatives of the developed countries of the global north (USA, Canada, Europe) are trying to shift at least part of the responsibility for climate change to the countries of the global south, which are developing rapidly and have recently significantly increased their emissions (South Africa, India, China, Brazil). There are many controversial issues, but any decision can only be made by consensus: each party to the UNFCCC has one vote and can block any decision it does not like. That is why negotiations take a long time and are not always effective.
In addition to governments, representatives of business, financial institutions, science, the public, and the media are also present at observer meetings as observers. They organize individual events and discussions around climate decisions and requirements and try to cover everything that is happening behind the walls.
Politics Vs. Climate change
That has been discussed at climate talks for the 25th year in a row.
“We have had 195 countries, 24 years of international climate negotiations, reports from thousands of scientists, youth strikes around the world and a whole bunch of greenhouse gas emissions that need to be eliminated. The only thing that has caused us concern is keeping global warming at 1.5° C. Nothing in the world is more complex, confusing and essential than tackling climate change. But we knew that sooner or later, we would take active action.”
Climate talks, of course, are not at all like the plot of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” But it can be as difficult for an unprepared viewer to understand them as it is for the famous film. On December 2, 25, such talks began. So let’s get to know what the COP is.
What’s happening at COP
Thus, the countries signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which came into force in 1994. Since 1995 the convention’s signatories (or parties) began to meet annually at the Conference of the Parties (COP). At these meetings, they discuss the rules of working together, make statements, sign additional agreements – in general, the COP is the main governing body that decides how the world will move in the fight against and adaptation to climate change. The 21st COP was marked by the appearance of the Paris Agreement, which should be fully operational in 2020. Subsequent conferences were devoted to discussing the rules of its implementation. And starting next year, countries will report to them and check the work results following these rules.
To simplify the negotiation process, the countries form groups and take common positions on various issues. And then, the representatives of these groups take part in the voting on behalf of the whole group. For example, the G77 and China include (oddly enough) 135 developing countries. However, in different negotiation processes, the members of this group can be grouped into smaller groups united by common interests. There’s the so-called Umbrella Group, which includes Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, Israel, and the United States.
Delegations of country representatives meet for two weeks, discuss their positions first in groups and then between group representatives, and make decisions by consensus. Towards the end of the conference, representatives of states, Ministers, or even Presidents come and make statements. At the same time, civil society representatives, who act as observers, and academics organize thematic events that do not affect the course of the negotiations but contribute to the development of the international exchange of experience.
There’s a term “nationally determined contribution” (NDC) – a kind of goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which each country sets for itself. And for the next COP in 2020, the countries are scheduled to present their already finalized contributions. In the meantime, the process of updating and harmonizing the NVB within the countries is underway.
How to count the forest and whether to believe in science
As the Paris Agreement contains only general provisions, the COP has the task of prescribing all the details so that it can work fully. For example, countries have long debated how to consider reforestation measures. Since the NDC aims to reduce its country’s emissions by a certain percentage by a certain year, it is necessary to calculate how many emissions it has now and how many emissions it reduces by implementing its policy. In the case of reforestation and other natural areas, it is difficult to do the latter: it is not known how many trees will grow, how many greenhouse gases they will absorb, in addition, felled or felled trees return CO2 to the atmosphere. All calculations are entirely conditional and uncertain, but reforestation activities also help achieve the climate goal, so it is necessary to calculate it somehow, which has caused heated controversy in the countries.
And at the last COP in Katowice, the issue of the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was raised. He emphasizes the need to keep warming at 1.5° C until the end of the century. After all, if the global temperature rises by 2° C, 37% of the world’s population will suffer from extreme heat at least once every five years, while at 1.5° C – only 14%. In the current state of affairs, the temperature will rise by more than 3° C, and things will worsen. To prevent such a consequence, greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by almost half by 2030 (compared to 2010) and reach zero by 2050. So countries began to argue over whether to consider the findings of thousands of scientists from around the world in their own work. And while poor island nations, the first to suffer, made painful speeches, large fossil-dependent countries polluted. In the end, they agreed to “invite” countries to use the report, that is, no clear commitment.
Earn to save the planet
The only issue that remains unresolved regarding the functioning of the Paris Agreement is the mechanisms of international cooperation, including financial tools. The COP (Conference of the Parties) in Madrid will address this issue.
Article 6 of the agreement stipulates that countries may “pass on” each other’s emission reduction achievements. That is, for example, if one country “overfulfilled” the goal, then another, which “underperformed” its own, may acquire from it a “surplus.” So at least this mechanism worked under the previous Kyoto Protocol. However, eventually, instead of reducing emissions, countries began to transfer quotas here and there around the globe. Of course, this did not bring good results.
In addition, countries can develop joint projects or invest in projects in other countries. In this case, it is essential that the benefits of these projects are adequately calculated, and the result obtained is included in the IER of only one of the countries. After all, if ten countries build one large solar power plant, and then each takes it into account as its own project, we will have ten times more emission reductions, but, unfortunately, only on paper.
As we can see, international politics is a complex matter and requires many details to be considered. But by the end of 2019, these issues must be resolved so that the Paris Agreement can work in full force.
What is COP26?
It all started with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force in 1994. Under this environmental agreement, most countries worldwide have agreed to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a safe level. All signatories to the convention began to meet annually at the so-called Conference of Parties (COP) to discuss mechanisms for combating climate change and evaluate the steps taken. The first such meeting of the parties took place in Berlin in 1995 and was called COP1, and the 26th meeting (COP26) will be held in Glasgow.
The primary purpose of the conferences is to agree on legal mechanisms that would ensure the accountability of governments for actions that lead to climate change. As the name implies, the UNFCCC only outlines the general principles of cooperation. To implement them, it is necessary to implement specific mechanisms and tools that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first such mechanisms were enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and now countries are preparing new ones – already under the framework of the Paris Agreement.
During the negotiations, official delegations of countries – usually government representatives – in open and closed meetings try to reach a consensus on many controversial issues. For example, small island nations are fighting for the right to receive sufficient financial resources from developed countries to adapt to climate change, as their islands are gradually disappearing as the world’s oceans rise. Representatives of the developed countries of the global north (USA, Canada, Europe) are trying to shift at least part of the responsibility for climate change to the countries of the global south, which are developing rapidly and have recently significantly increased their emissions (South Africa, India, China, Brazil). There are many controversial issues, but any decision can only be made by consensus: each party to the UNFCCC has one vote and can block any decision it does not like. That is why negotiations take a long time and are not always effective.
In addition to governments, representatives of business, financial institutions, science, the public, and the media are also present at observer meetings as observers. They organize individual events and discussions around climate decisions and requirements and try to cover everything that is happening behind the walls.
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We’ll continue to explain what COP26 means for the planet and what is net-zero emissions in the following articles.
And now, check the opinion of how Arab states are accelerating climate action in the run-up to COP26.
