UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
(COP26)
GLASGOW NOVEMBER 2021
COP26
You will have seen many references in the press and on TV to a United Nations Conference called COP26 that is due to take place in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. I hope that many people will find out about this conference as its outcome is vitally important not just for us but for our children and for future generations.
The Conference will discuss how we as a members of a world community can change our lifestyles in order to limit the Global Warming that is now creating havoc in our world. This is something we all need to be part of.
Conference of the Parties
COP stands for Conference of the Parties. The summit will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This treaty came into force in 1994.
What is this and why is it important to all of us?
To me (and probably you and all our descendants) this could be the most important conference in the history of the world. That sounds a bit dramatic but these are dramatic times!
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently produced a press release. This was about a Working Group report they had just published on the state of the planet. It makes for very alarming reading.
For example – “Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented … Some of the changes set in motion – such as continued sea level rise – are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years”.
You can read the rest for yourselves here.
As a scientist I find it terrifying. I know that even now many people, for whatever reason, will want to pretend the situation doesn’t exist. Perhaps they feel that we can’t do anything about it or that as individuals we are powerless to make changes.
WE CAN AND WE MUST DO SOMETHING
The (Semi) Hopeful News
The press release also says “Strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change. While benefits for air quality would come quite quickly it could take 20-30 years to see global temperatures stabilize.” That is a lot of insurance claims!
And that is if we do the good stuff!!!!!!!
NDCs
Nationally Determined Contributions
Countries that signed an agreement in Paris 5 years ago to work on reducing carbon emissions should come to Glasgow with a plan. This should show how they intend to do that. They also agreed to help developing countries adapt to Climate Change, although there is little evidence of that. These plans are called NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) and are intended to contain ambitious reduction targets that will be achieved by 2030.
Targets are good and many countries have come up with great targets. However, words will be ineffective without actions and the actions need to be in line with reducing emissions fast. (So the British government’s plan to open a new coal mine in the north of England and to allow drilling for oil in the North Sea is not inspiring confidence in the UK’s targets.) Many other countries are also dragging their feet.
“Nearly half of the 200 nations that signed the 2015 Paris climate accord failed to submit new pledges by a UN deadline of the end of July 2021. Saudi Arabia and India are among about 90 countries that have yet to detail how they will beef up their previous targets.”
A recent Guardian article (here) outlines the need for drastic action.
It says “If all the national pledges submitted so far were fulfilled, global emissions would be reduced by only 1% by 2030. Scientists have said a 45% reduction is needed in the next 10 years.”
To make matters much worse, at the beginning of September the UN noted that, even with new pledges, emissions are now projected to rise by 16% by 2030.
Clearly something needs to change.
It appears to me that this needs political action. Only governments can make these bigger decisions. They need to know what YOU think. They are there to represent you so don’t let them forget it!
So, tell them what YOU think:
- Write to your elected representative and tell them what sort of society you want to live in.
- Say that you want them to produce properly thought out and funded plans for that green future. Tell them you won’t be voting for them if they don’t do that.
- In the UK write to the Chancellor and tell him to produce a budget to protect the planet and to build a more sustainable world for our children.
- Wherever you live contact your politicians and keep doing it. Find different ways of doing that. Don’t give up on the first non-reply.
- Support politicians who believe in the New Green Deal and let them know you believe in what they are doing.
- Learn more about the situation because cutting emissions is complex and it is useful to know what we should be supporting.
- Join organisations who are pushing governments on their longer term environmental plans. Do it before COP 26 and help fund them if you can.
- Contact the press and let them know you want them to support the fight for a better plan. If your community is doing something to support the planet, call the press and make sure they publish it.
- Get your family, friends and neighbours involved and Talk about the situation.
- Join Extinction Rebellion and get out there and protest. Be noisy and visible.
Remember, you can make a difference. This is really serious and will affect many generations to come. We need transformational change in our lifestyles.
To make matters much worse, at the beginning of September the UN noted that, even with new pledges, emissions are now projected to rise by 16% by 2030.
This is the most terrifying statistic I have seen in all my reading about climate change. I am going to send it around to all my friends and talk about it. What will the world be like in just 9 years if this comes to pass?
I know what you mean Debbie. It seems unbelievable. I will try and address it in your other comment on emissions after COP.
I am fixing my hopes on the non-governmental efforts. There is so much going on, not just in the world of protests but in technology and the much lower prices of what is available, in finance and how companies are beginning to work, in things like the C40 Cities (I don’t know if you know about them but look them up, they will make you feel better. I also get the feeling, not backed up by my research at the moment, that people are beginning to understand better the systems nature of things, i.e. we can’t just fix one thing and expect it to work. Everything is so tied together. So,for example, if we stop using oil and coal etc we need to find jobs for these workers and probably support their communities. Or if we have a wonderful new array of renewables we need smart grids to make it work and that probably needs to be government controlled. And so on.
Thinking about the above comment I realise I hadn’t really considered the inevitable rise in carbon emissions even if we stopped burning fossil fuels straight away. A 16% rise may well be a conservative estimate. What do you think after hearing the COP pledges? Will they prevent an even bigger rise in emissions by 2030 in your opinion?
You are right, our emissions will continue to rise even without fossil fuels in a number of ways:-
Carbon emissions from deforestation will carry on rising, a) fewer trees to take up carbon dioxide, b) more open land to allow carbon to escape from the soil.
There was a pledge at COP from quite a number of countries to cut deforestation. How believable that is e.g. from Brazil, who knows but it looks semi-promising.
The hotter our oceans get the less able they will be to take up carbon dioxide. It is quite interesting how that works. I might do a blog on that one day!
We will still have methane leaks, although there was some kind of agreement about that at COP. Again some of the important countries have not signed so we will need to wait and see on that one. The big worry here is the melting permafrost in the Arctic. There is a lot of methane stored there. (Methane only stays in the atmosphere a relatively short time but it is a much more powerful greenhouse gas.
Then there are the cows! Another good reason for giving up meat. Huge numbers of industrially farmed cows means a lot of methane in the atmosphere as they give off methane when they digest their food. So cow burps are bad!Digging up peat for our garden planting material is also a bad idea as peat stores carbon very well.
And so on – – – –
Thoughts on pledges after COP.
AARGH! is my first response. However to be reasonable countries have promised a bit more at COP. Not enough, but more. What seems most promising is that they have agreed to come back in another year, not five, to discuss further pledges. For all the reasons I have said in your other comments my feelings are that bad as it was, and for some countries, eg, like Australia that really ought to know better, it was bad, there are reasons for hope. Just not too much time.
Let me know if you want more details.