COP26: UK asks world leaders to recognise urgent need for action

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Recognising the “urgency of action” needed to bounds planetary warming to 1.5 degrees is connected the UK COP26 presidency’s privation database for the important clime acme – but the database doesn't see immoderate item connected erstwhile countries request to show that urgency

Environment 8 November 2021

By Adam Vaughan

UK COP26 president Alok Sharma astatine the acme successful Glasgow

Nearly 200 governments successful Glasgow, UK, are being asked to recognise the “urgency of action” needed to conscionable the world’s clime alteration targets, successful a last connection to beryllium presented astatine the COP26 acme this week.

After a archetypal week of eye-catching deals connected deforestation, methane and more, this week COP26 turns to the hard enactment of agreeing the last rules for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, a caller planetary extremity for clime adaptation and what financing for susceptible countries whitethorn look similar beyond 2025.

On Sunday, the UK presidency of the COP26 acme released an elements paper, efficaciously a privation database for the last “decision texts” to beryllium determined by the clip the league is scheduled to adjacent connected Friday. The insubstantial says those texts should recognise the “urgency of enactment to support 1.5 [degrees Celsius] alive”. However, the papers lacks a elaborate timeline for however countries should show that urgency.

The hopes besides see declaring the 2020s arsenic a “critical decade” to support live the Paris Agreement’s goal of pursuing efforts to clasp planetary warming to 1.5^oC. Within the paper, countries are told to admit they aren’t doing capable and to “acknowledge the gap” betwixt what their existent plans would mean for yearly planetary c dioxide emissions successful 2030 and what is needed for 1.5^oC. That spread is presently vast: successful the portion of 28 cardinal tonnes of CO2 a year, though rapid analyses published past week suggest that this fig has fallen.

Further items connected the privation database see a gathering of satellite leaders earlier 2023 to see the level of ambition successful their 2030 plans. Countries that person acceptable a net-zero extremity for mid-century, specified arsenic Russia, are told to “align” their short-term goals with those semipermanent ones. There is an explicit telephone for nations that haven’t yet submitted a much ambitious 2030 program to bash truthful successful 2022. That would see Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Saudi Arabia among different countries, says David Waskow astatine the World Resources Institute (WRI), a US non-profit.

UK situation caput George Eustice yesterday said that the UK wouldn’t propulsion for a faster rhythm of revisiting plans, but a UK authorities root told New Scientist this was wrong.

Greater enactment to curb emissions isn’t the lone happening connected the privation database for the last statements. It besides includes a “global extremity connected adaptation”, talks connected clime concern for processing countries and to amusement “deep concern” astatine the failed pledge to supply $100 cardinal a twelvemonth of clime concern to assistance susceptible nations by 2020.

In a subtle but notable displacement successful endorsing clime science, the UK presidency hopes that COP26’s result substance volition “welcome” the Intergovernmental Panel connected Climate Change’s landmark subject report published successful August. At a UN clime acme successful 2018, portion clime sceptic Donald Trump was US president, governments failed to welcome a large IPCC study published earlier that year, with a enactment breaking retired during the league erstwhile the US and 3 different countries sought to lone “note” it. Piers Forster astatine the University of Leeds, UK, says the displacement successful connection towards the subject is important. “It matters,” helium says.

Yamide Dagnet astatine the WRI says of the elements insubstantial overall: “The wide acceptable of [important] elements are there.” But she says determination are weaknesses, peculiarly connected however rapidly stronger emissions plans are brought guardant and connected details astir clime alteration concern to assistance susceptible countries. Yesterday’s insubstantial represents a privation list, not needfully what nations volition hold successful coming days.

Away from the Scottish Event Campus wherever COP26 is being held, Glasgow saw the motorboat yesterday of an alternate clime acme organised by activists. That followed large clime protests successful the metropolis connected Saturday, which organisers said attracted much than 100,000 people, positive much astatine astir 300 events worldwide. Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg told crowds successful Glasgow connected Friday that COP26 was lone a “PR exercise” and was already a “failure”.

Inside the summit, contiguous is officially designated arsenic “adaptation” and “loss and damage” day, the second a notation to the rising costs that countries are facing from utmost upwind events and different impacts linked to clime change. Around 20 ministers from countries including Bangladesh, Fiji, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and the US volition be a ministerial league contiguous connected the 2 subjects. The database doesn’t see Saudi Arabia, which Greenpeace International says made verbal comments blocking advancement connected adaptation astatine a COP26 gathering connected Friday.

The costs of a warming satellite were spelled retired connected Monday successful a study by Marina Andrijevic astatine the University of Berlin for the non-profit Christian Aid. It recovered that susceptible countries volition instrumentality an mean 63.9 per cent deed to their GDP by the extremity of the period nether somesthesia rises astir successful enactment with the world’s existent path.

Today, the UK authorities besides announced £290 cardinal of caller backing to assistance different nations accommodate to clime change.