At the 26th Climate Summit, recently held in Glasgow, diplomats from nearly 200 countries, following lengthy discussions, signed an agreement aimed at stepping up efforts to tackle climate change.
This document calls on the signatory countries to return next year with new proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions, although it does not set specific reduction targets for the coming decades.
It highlights that coal is the main cause of global warming and calls for a reduction in its use. It also urges developed countries to double funding for developing countries to help them adapt to climate change by 2025.
PROGRESS ON THE AGREEMENT
The United States and China: the two countries issued a joint statement pledging to reduce methane emissions, decarbonise their economies and transition to clean energy.
Deforestation: Leaders from over 100 countries, representing almost 85 per cent of the world’s forests, pledged to halt deforestation by 2030.
Methane: More than 100 countries agreed to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent by the end of this decade.
India: The country joined the effort by committing to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.
ARE THESE MEASURES ENOUGH?
Many countries lamented that the package of measures was not enough to tackle global warming, whilst others described it as “disappointing”.
According to the UN Secretary-General, an important step had been taken, but it was not enough. He emphasised the importance of achieving the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees.
India and China raised last-minute objections, changing the wording from ‘eliminating’ to ‘reducing’ the use of coal.
This merely commits countries to reducing coal combustion carried out without any mechanism to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere.
Nor are there any defined targets regarding funding to help countries tackle climate change.
WILL COUNTRIES KEEP THEIR PROMISES?
To a large extent, any commitments made at the COP will have to rely on self-monitoring.
Only a few countries are making their commitments legally binding.
In theory, it would be possible to impose sanctions on countries that fail to do so. But that could be counterproductive and lead some nations to withdraw from international agreements.
This pact, however insufficient it may be, will help to rekindle a sense of international collaboration and the hope that temperatures can be kept under control this century, between 1.8 and 2.4 degrees.
On the other hand, the alarming reality is that the atmosphere responds only to emissions, not to decisions taken at conferences such as COP26.
Let us hope for greater commitments at COP27 and that more nature-based solutions are included.
