By Sophia Rathleff
Summary
Conference of the Parties (COP) is attended by all states that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994. At the 21st meeting (COP21) in 2015, the Paris agreement was signed, aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius. This has been the basis for all other COP conferences since. At COP26 there is a clear set of goals to reach, but an equal amount of tension. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the global political climate has shifted massively from International relations to a socio-economic level. Alongside the summit, we are expecting to see youth activists from around the world hosting demonstrations throughout the conference.
The goals of the summit are as follows; securing global net-zero by mid-century, adapting to protect communities and natural habitats, mobilising finance and climate change cooperation. The plans are to encourage ambitious 2030 goals in line with the net-zero goal. Cooperation is required for developing infrastructure to tackle the effects on ecosystems and communities. There was a previous goal to have $100 billion a year going towards climate change efforts by 2020, but as seen in the G7 summits they have fallen short. Additionally to add to cooperative efforts states are hoping to finalise the Paris rulebook and accelerate action.
Week 1
Timetable
Sunday 31st October
The summit procedurally opened on Sunday where Greta Thunberg, a prominent youth activist, made her first remark, placing a sense of optimism for the intense discussions to follow this week. She stated, ‘it's never too late to do as much as we can’, removing the helplessness that so often comes with climate change discussions. Furthermore, we saw the first of presumably many protests occur, in Edinburgh, with Extinction Rebellion marching in solidarity with the COP26 summit.
Many important global figures are in attendance, including but not limited to
President Joe Biden, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi (who is currently chair of the African Union). However, noticeable absences included China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. How these will affect proceedings and progress will surely become more obvious as the next two weeks unfold.
The first day is for formally opening the summit and for leaders to start arriving. However, there are some things we can take away from the startup to this event. One, there is likely to be a clear recognition of the severity of the situation, more so than has ever been displayed before. Two, it is being made clear that leaders can no longer ignore youth activists and the voices of environmental groups. Tomorrow, the World Leader’s Summit begins where we will see leaders outline plans for achieving climate goals, mainly the 1.5 agreement.
November 1st 2021
The first “official” day opened with a speech from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, where he touched on the severity of the situation as well as socio-political tensions. Following this, there were addresses from activists from vulnerable parts of the world, relaying their experiences of the effects of climate change. UN secretary Antonio Guterres addressed attendees saying “We face a stark choice: Either we stop it — or it stops us”, outlining the severity leaders face in the coming weeks of debate. Other notable opening speeches came from Prince Charles and Sir David Attenborough. Today we saw many leaders take the stage to outline plans, with mixed approaches and differing success.
Things to take note of today.
One, we saw Joe Biden take the stage, pledging his support for cooperation and pledging to, by 2030, reduce carbon emissions by 50% below 2005 levels. It was a significant speech considering the uncertainty of the USA’s commitment after Trump removed the USA from the Paris agreement in 2017. However, Biden made it clear the USA was not only back in the game but prepared to contribute heavily.
Two, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro sent a prerecorded video speech where he condemned recent activities, deforestation and a drastic rise in carbon emissions. Though logistically their ambitions have not changed and they have taken no accountability for climate change.
Three, India’s PM Modi announced they intend to go net-zero by 2070 and have half of their energy renewable by 2030. They also called for more finance to be made available by states.
Four, China’s position hasn't changed much. In a statement, Xi Jinping called for more funding for developing states, but in his absence has not made new pledges. This is leaving many to continue doubting China's commitment to the issue.
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