SAVING THE PLANET
COP26 is the biggest event staged by the UK since the 2012 London Olympics. And the stakes are much higher.
The competitors will not be superfit athletes chasing gold medals but scientists, government officials and politicians trying to find a way to stop the planet from overheating with potentially deadly consequences.
The goal of the Glasgow summit is not to negotiate a new deal to save the planet. That deal was struck in 2015 in Paris.
At COP26 – the 26th Conference of the Parties on climate change – the aim is to find a way to achieve the Paris treaty.
Paris sought to limit climate change to no more than 2C and preferably 1.5C of warming since the Industrial Revolution. Scientists warn that beyond 2C the consequences of climate change will become increasingly dangerous – more extreme weather, melting ice caps, rising sea levels among them.
Since man first started using coal, the planet has already warmed by 1.2C and is on course to hit 1.5C in 20 years.
It may not sound much but even with 1.2C of warming, records for extreme weather events keep tumbling. This year we have seen devastating floods in Germany and China and a recordbreaking killer heatwave in Canada.
Recently the United Nations Environment
Programme warned that commitments from governments around the world would only limit warming to 2.7C.
With the UK hosting the conference, Boris Johnson summed up his targets as “coal, cars, cash and trees”.
He wants coal completely phased out worldwide, a switch from petrol and diesel-powered cars to electric vehicles, rich countries to help finance adaptation plans in poorer countries and for mitigation measures such as large-scale tree planting to soak up carbon.
His COP26 president Alok Sharma has been travelling the globe trying to get world leaders to commit to a 2050 target for net zero – eliminating or offsetting greenhouse gases. One of the key goals – getting rich countries to donate $100billion a year for five years to poorer countries – has been missed.
Britain will tell the world it is leading the way with measures such as becoming the first country to commit legally to net zero and banning new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. But it is also considering a new coal mine and allowing new North Sea oil licences.
It is to be hoped that world leaders do more than just talk.
Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan last week described COP26 as “a test for humanity”. She said: “Paris was the engagement party, but now we’re at the wedding, waiting to see if the key countries and corporations are ready to say ‘I do’.”