A beginner’s guide to COP26
World leaders and negotiators are preparing to head to Glasgow, Scotland, for what is expected to be the most ambitious meeting yet, from 31 October until 12 November. As the 26th Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) negotiations draw near, countries are preparing to find solutions to collectively lower emissions. Here’s what you need to know before the conference gets under way.
In 1994, the parties – countries – agreed on a treaty in which 197 nations (196 countries and the European Union) became signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The treaty would legally obligate countries to take climate action and implement agreed-upon efforts at a domestic level.
This year, COP26 is a partnership between the UK and Italy, and aims to bring about ambitious climate action aligned with the Paris Agreement. The negotiations are expected to call for drastic measures from the parties to curb emissions and achieve net zero by 2050.
What happens at COP26?
Every year since the first COP in Berlin, Germany, in 1995, countries have been meeting to discuss the various ways in which they can combat the climate crisis and implement strategies at a national level.
Countries use the meeting to address their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Companies and/or organisations also announce their plans to curb emissions as well as their carbon neutrality goals.
This year’s meeting will be taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, and the president of COP this year is the UK’s Alok Sharma.
What are the goals of COP26?
Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and keeping to a 1.5°C temperature rise are key targets of the negotiations. The world needs to halve its emissions to avert catastrophic climate crisis consequences, as warned in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
Adaptation and the restoration of ecosystems to build resilience are equally important factors in determining the success of the negotiations. The meeting is also looking at mobilising finance to unlock trillions in private and public funding to secure global net zero.
Climate financing between developed and developing countries
Climate financing is among the key topics of COP26 as developing countries seek to hold accountable the 20 richest countries for their role in contributing to 80% of global emissions. Developing countries are most vulnerable to the climate crisis even though their relative contributions have typically been minimal.
Developing countries are expected to increase climate financing from the $100-billion per year that developed countries had pledged between 2009 and 2020, of which they met the target by about $79-billion in 2019. A financial pledge is a way for developed countries to acknowledge their role in causing the crisis while giving a helping hand to developing countries to meet their NDCs.
And what exactly are NDCs?
NDCs are a country’s climate action plan for lowering its emissions and impact on the climate. They are updated every five years and represent each country’s efforts to maintain a global average temperature rise of no more than 1.5°C, as per the Paris Agreement.
What is the Paris Agreement and why is it so important?
The NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement, a legally binding treaty signed in 2015 in Paris, France, by 196 parties. The agreement is a commitment to keep the average global temperature increase below 2°C, preferably below 1.5°C, compared with pre-industrial temperatures.
The agreement is important as it compels countries to take climate action to keep global average temperature rises below 1.5°C by achieving net zero by 2050.
What are current temperatures?
Although countries have made headway in lowering emissions, the commitments have not been ambitious enough to keep global average temperatures below a 1.5°C increase.
Current global warming stands at about 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. Even with countries updating their NDCs to meet Paris Agreement goals, a UN Climate Change report showed that the countries’ efforts would result in a 1% decrease in global emissions by 2030 as compared to 2010.
Why should the global average temperature rise be kept below 1.5°C?
A 1.5°C average temperature increase limits the extremity of the consequences of the climate crisis, lowering major risks of food and water shortages, and lowering the chances of more species becoming extinct.
What is the difference between net zero and carbon neutral?
In short, the two terms are different and should not be confused.
Dr Jackie Raw, a postdoctoral research fellow at Nelson Mandela University, explains that “carbon neutral” is similar to “net zero” but it refers specifically to carbon emissions and removals.
“Net zero”, on the other hand, refers to the balance between all greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted and those removed. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, water vapour and chlorofluorocarbons are the main GHG emissions.
“Net zero is, therefore, an emissions and removals goal. It can be applied at different scales – by cities, regions, businesses and countries. Net zero can be achieved by lowering emissions and increasing removals of GHGs,” Raw said.
Who is representing South Africa in the negotiations?
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy will be representing South Africa. Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale of Gabon is the chairperson of the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change under the UNFCCC and will be leading negotiations on the continent’s priorities, which include adaptation, climate finance and transparency mechanisms.