In a world shaken by the pandemic, and when we are about to run out of time to avoid climate catastrophe, the momentous COP26 United Nations Climate Conference begins this Sunday in the Scottish city of Glasgow. What is at stake is very important.
"If we do not act with determination, we are risking our last chance, literally, to change the course of things," said the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, in the days before the meeting.
Why is this our last chance?
From UN News, we have gathered some answers to the most common questions that may arise on the subject.
Let's start at the beginning, what is COP26?
COP26, the twenty-sixth climate conference, is the largest and most important climate-related conference on the planet.
In 1992, the UN organized a major event in Rio de Janeiro, under the name of the Earth Summit, in which the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted.
In this treaty, nations agreed to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere" to prevent dangerous interference from human activity in the climate system. Currently, the treaty has 197 signatories.
Since 1994, the year the treaty entered into force, the UN has brought together almost every country in the world every year at global climate summits, known as the "COPs," which refers to the "Conference of the Parties."
This year the 27th annual summit should have been held but, due to COVID-19, it could not be convened last year; hence this year we celebrate the 26th conference, COP26.
But why COP26? Don't we already have enough meetings on climate change?
During these climate conferences, various "extensions" to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change treaty have been negotiated to establish legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries, and to define a mechanism for application to assess compliance.
Among these extensions are the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which defined emission limits for developed nations to be reached by 2012; and the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, in which all the countries of the world agreed to intensify efforts to try to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, and boost financing for the action on climate change.
So this is where COP26 gets interesting: during the conference, among other things, delegates aim to finalize the "Paris regulation", or the rules necessary to implement the Agreement. This time they will have to agree on common deadlines on the frequency of review and monitoring of their climate commitments.
Basically, Paris set the goal: limit warming to below two degrees Celsius (ideally 1.5ºC), but Glasgow is the last chance to make it happen.
This brings us back to the initial question: why is COP26 our last chance?
Climate change has gone from being an uncomfortable problem to a global emergency that threatens the life of the planet in the next three decades.
Although countries have made new commitments and reaffirmed previous ones ahead of COP26, the world is headed for a dangerous global temperature rise of at least 2.7°C this century, even if the Paris targets are met.
Science makes it clear to us: an increase in temperatures of this magnitude by the end of the century could mean, among other things, a 62% increase in burned areas due to forest fires in the northern hemisphere during the summer, the loss of habitat of a third of the world's mammals and more frequent periods of drought, between four and ten months.
António Guterres describes it, bluntly, as a "climate catastrophe", which is already lethally affecting the most vulnerable areas of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, or the small island states, which are hit by the rise in the level of the sea.
Millions of people have already been displaced and killed by disasters aggravated by climate change.
For Guterres and the hundreds of scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a 1.5°C warming scenario is the "only habitable future for humanity."
The clock is ticking, and in order to be able to limit warming, the world needs to halve greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years.
This is a mammoth task that we will only be able to accomplish if the leaders attending COP26 present truly ambitious plans, with concrete timelines and an initial workload to phase out carbon and transform their economies to reach so-called net zero emissions.
But... hadn't countries like China and the United States already committed to reaching the goal of zero emissions?
The latest UN report on the emissions gap explains that a total of 49 countries, in addition to the European Union, have committed to a zero emissions goal.
This encompasses more than half of national greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of global GDP and a third of the world's population. There are eleven targets enshrined in law, covering 12% of global emissions.
Sounds great, right? But there's a catch: Many of the commitments delay action steps until after 2030, raising questions about whether these zero-emissions promises can actually be achieved. Furthermore, many of these pledges are "vague" and inconsistent with the officially presented commitments, the Nationally Determined Contribution plans, known as NDCs.
This once again explains why COP26 is so important: "The time for diplomatic niceties is past... If governments, especially those of the G20, do not champion and lead this effort, we are headed for terrible human suffering," he warned. Guterres at the UN General Assembly this week.
So what exactly are you hoping to achieve at COP26?
Official negotiations take place over two weeks. In the first week, technical negotiations between government officials are discussed; followed by high-level ministerial and head of state meetings in the second week, at which final decisions will or will not be made.
During the conference, four main issues will be addressed, according to its host, the United Kingdom:
1. Ensure zero emissions worldwide by mid-century and maintain 1.5 degrees Celsius
To do this, countries need to phase out coal, curb deforestation, and accelerate the shift to greener economies. Carbon market mechanisms will also be part of the negotiations.
2. Adapt more to protect communities and natural habitats
Since the climate is already changing, countries affected by climate change must protect and restore ecosystems, as well as build defense and warning systems, and resilient infrastructure.
3. Mobilize climate finance
At COP15, rich nations promised to channel $100 billion a year to less-rich nations by 2020 to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperatures.
That promise has not been kept, and COP26 will be crucial to secure that financing, with the help of the international financial institutions, as well as to set new climate finance targets to be achieved by 2025.
4. Work together to achieve it
This means building partnerships between governments, business and civil society and, of course, finalizing the Paris Regulation to make the Agreement fully operational.
In addition to formal negotiations, COP26 is expected to establish new initiatives and coalitions to take action to combat the effects of climate change.
How, when and where?
The main event will be held at the Scottish Event Campus, from October 31 to November 12, with the possibility of negotiations going on for another day or two. So far, there are more than 30,000 people registered to attend representing governments, businesses, NGOs and civil society groups.
The 197 signatories to the UNFCCC treaty often meet in groups or "blocs" to negotiate together, such as the G77 and China, the African Group, the Least Developed Countries, the Umbrella Forum, Small Island Developing States and the Independent Alliance. of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The negotiations also have observers, who do not formally participate in them, but who intervene and help maintain the transparency of said negotiations. Observers include United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, religious groups and the press.
But in addition to the official negotiations, there will be a conference, a pavilion and thousands of side events, distributed between days dedicated exclusively to certain topics, such as the economy, energy, youth and public empowerment, nature, adaptation, gender , science and innovation, transport and cities.
The conference will take place in two areas: the blue zone (Scottish Events Campus) and the green zone, located in the Glasgow Science Centre.
The blue zone is a space managed by the UN where negotiations are held, and to access it, attendees must be accredited by the UNFCCC Secretariat.
The green zone is managed by the UK government and is open to the public. It will include events, exhibitions, workshops and talks to promote dialogue, awareness, education and commitments on climate change.
Do famous people attend?
In addition to the attendance of several heads of state and government, such as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, and the President of the United States, Joe Biden, other familiar faces that will attend Glasgow will be Sir David Attenborough, the ombudsman of COP26, and the activist Greta Thunberg. The Queen of England announced with regret that she would ultimately not travel to the main reception of the event.
The new United Nations ambassadors for the Sustainable Development Goals, the superstars of the K-pop (Korean pop) Blackpink will also participate in the event. This Korean music group posted a video ahead of their appearance, in which they shared their message to inspire climate action.
And in such a big conference, are there any special measures for COVID-19?
COVID-19 remains a huge problem around the world, but the fight against the climate crisis cannot wait, according to the hosts of COP26.
Face-to-face negotiations are preferred to virtual ones, to ensure the inclusive participation of high- and low-income countries, as well as to ensure scrutiny and transparency.
Full vaccination of conference attendees is strongly recommended, and the UK has launched a pre-program to deliver vaccines to participants living in countries that do not have access to them.
Strict COVID-19 testing protocols will also be enforced. Everyone entering the blue zone will be tested daily to ensure the health and well-being of all participants and the surrounding community.
In addition, there are specific provisions of the COP for the travel regime during COVID-19, which people will encounter when entering England and Scotland. Attendees from some countries will have to quarantine; it will be funded by the UK government for attendees in difficult circumstances.