COP 26 starts in Glasgow

 What is Cop 26 ?
The Cop, or conference of the parties, is the overall decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is its 26th annual meeting, where decisions are made by 197 countries to prevent “dangerous” human interference with the climate.
The conference officially started on Sunday 31st October 2021 and is scheduled to finish on November 12. 
The conference will be held at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. 

In 2019, Glasgow city council set their target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030. The city was awarded the status of a “global green city” by the Global Forum on Human Settlements last year.

Adopted at Cop21 in 2015, the most significant conference in recent years, the Paris agreement is a legally binding treaty on climate change in which countries are supposed to increase their efforts every five years and submit new targets to keep global temperatures “well below” 2.0C above pre-industrial levels and “endeavour to limit” heating to 1.5C. 

With leaders and dignitaries from almost 200 countries attending, Cop26 is effectively acting as a deadline to secure tougher targets from countries that have not already submitted them and fulfil the aims of the Paris agreement.

What will be decided?
Johnson will ask every country to commit themselves to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Britain also hopes to secure a global agreement to stop building new coal-fired power stations and phase out existing ones. 

Britain will also attempt to tackle the issue of climate finance. In 2009, the world’s richest nations pledged £100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries tackle climate change. The target was missed, however, and it is only now that developed countries are nearing the target.

Nature-based solutions, such as protecting forests, wetlands and other carbon sinks, will also be a focus at Cop26. While these initiatives are vital, only 3 per cent of global climate finance is spent on nature-based solutions.

The Environment Agency’s Report

The report also sets out five climate “reality checks” to make the case for urgent action on adaptation:

1.     The Environment Agency alone cannot protect everyone from increasing flood and coastal risks: rising sea levels and extreme winter rainfall will mean it will not be technically, socially, and economically viable to protect every community. Instead, alongside constructing and maintaining defences, we must help communities learn to live with risk, minimise damage, and return to normal life quickly.

2.     Climate change makes it harder to ensure clean and plentiful water: existing issues with water stress will be exacerbated by climate change bringing altered temperature and rainfall patterns. Measures to tackle these pressures are underway, but a strategic approach to water management and faster progress on improvements are needed.

3.     Environmental regulation is not yet ready for a changing climate: climate change is increasing the impact of environmental incidents, for example lower river levels means pollutants diffuse slower and have a greater impact. It is vital that environmental policy and legislation keeps pace with the escalating challenge to allow us and other regulators to protect the environment.

4.     Ecosystems cannot adapt as fast as the climate is changing :- industrialisation and urbanisation have left the UK as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and climate change means wildlife in England will continue to be altered. We must recognise importance of natural ecosystems in supporting life (including our own) in our health and wellbeing. Nature must be the essential foundation of development, rather than being seen as an impediment.

5.     There will be more and worse environmental incidents: both natural and man-made environmental incidents will be made worse by climate change. This will place an increased burden on emergency response and divert resources from other activities.

Our chairman Tweedie Brown OBE is attending COP 26 and will be providing us with some insights to the Conference