COP26 Glasgow - ongoing optimism but what's the reality ?

The 26th Meeting of the UN Climate Change Council of the Parties (COP) Conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland between the 31st October to the 12 November 2021. Co-hosted with Italy, this COP was delayed due to COVID-19. The Conference brings together world leaders and negotiators to monitor progress against the existing Paris Agreement and seek a common way forward with reducing the threat caused by climate change. But how effective will COP26 be, compared to the previous conferences ?

COP26 has 4 stated primary objectives -

1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
3. Mobilise finance
4. Work together to deliver

Participating countries have been asked to bring forward ambitious 2030 emission targets that align with reaching net zero by around 2050. To reach this outcome, countries are being asked to accelerate the phase out of coal, curtail deforestation, speed up the switch to electric vehicles and encourage investment in renewables. While these are all essential steps to take, several countries will still need time to manage the transition particularly ending reliance on coal and  switching to electric vehicles.

Australia regretably lags well behind on almost all of these actions with the exception of investment in renewable energy generation that has increased over the past few years. Electric vehicle promotion has been largely managed by private organisations rather than government and remains woefully inadequate.

The Conference is also seeking to take steps to enable the protection and restoration of ecosystems affected by climate change; build defences, warning systems; and resilient infrastructure and agriculture. These are tall orders for mitigating the effects of the very drastic weather events now taking place across many parts of the planet. Agriculture, for example, may need to adapt with new food crops such as ancient grains in order to be sustainable.

Developed countries are expected to make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020. It will be interesting to see if this has occured with the impact of COVID-19 still affecting many parts of the world including the developed countries. COP26 is also seeking to finalise the Paris Rulebook that provides the detailed requirements to make the Paris Agreement operational.

Lofty ideals and good intentions. COP26 has the right messages but with the evidence building that a 1.5C increase in temperature is now inevitable, the actions will need to be faster than the rhetoric.

Link to the website: COP26 Glasgow