COP26 will probably be the most important Climate Negotiation conference, ever to have taken place. The decisions taken during this conference will impact our lives and that our planet for years to come.
We felt, it is our responsibility, on this occasion to bring you a basic COP snapshot, so that you can build context around it.
This Article is Part of a three-piece blog, put together to help you just do that! We are keeping it simple; and avoiding the use of jargon, consciously, as we put this together.
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This Blog has been broken down into six sections, for ease of reading.
COP stands for “Conference of the Parties.” In diplomatic parlance, the parties refer to 197 nations that agreed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at a meeting in 1992. The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995.
This year (2021, November) is the 26th time, the countries would have gathered under the convention. It is hence being referred to as COP26.
Note, last year, in light of the worldwide effects of COVID-19 Pandemic, the COP Bureau of the UNFCCC, with the UK and its Italian partners, had decided to re-schedule the conference initially slated for November 2020. Rescheduling the conference was done to ensure that all parties in COP can focus on the issues to be discussed at this vital climate conference.
The UNFCCC secretariat is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement – whose main aim is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The UNFCCC secretariat (also known as (UN Climate Change) – stands for United Nations Framework Convention. Established in 1992, it is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. The original secretariat was in Geneva. Since 1995, the secretariat has been located in Bonn, Germany.
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COP26 is being conducted from 31st October to 12 November this year.
Find here, a copy of the COP26 Overview Schedule, to see how a COP is usually planned out on a day-to-day basis.
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4. Who will host COP26?
COP26 UN Climate Change Conference will be hosted by the UK in the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, UK. The UK will host it, in partnership with Italy.
At the heart of COP26, will be negotiations involving the 197 Parties to the UNFCCC. Of these, 194 Parties have submitted their first NDCs. 13 Parties have submitted their second NDCs [3]. Eritrea and Iraq have submitted their first NDC but have not yet become a Party to the Paris Agreement
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) [4] – which is core to the Paris Agreement - are outlines communicated by Parties (countries) of their climate actions ambitions and commitments to the UNFCCC secretariat. NDCs are submitted once every 5 years – giving Parties (Countries) an opportunity to enhance commitment to Climate Action, over time. COP26 gives all Parties an opportunity to submit their second NDCs, since the first submission 5 years ago.
The UNFCCC secretariat maintains the registry of NDCs.
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World leaders of respective Parties (countries), alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses, and citizens, will participate in COP26.
In addition [7], to the more than 20,000 people expected to attend the formal talks and side events, large marches are expected around the city of Glasgow. Saturday, Nov. 6, has been designated the Global Day for Climate Justice and advocacy groups are expecting about 100,000 protesters.
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COP26 has set out to achieve the following 4 Goals.
Please note, the language of the Goals has NOT been para-phrased, so that you have the opportunity to read them, as they were written down for the world leaders, attending the climate negotiations.
1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
Countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century.
To deliver on these stretching targets, countries will need to:
• Accelerate the phase-out of coal
• Curtail deforestation
• Speed up the switch to electric vehicles
• Encourage investment in renewables
2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
The climate is already changing, and it will continue to change even as we reduce emissions, with devastating effects.
At COP26 we need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to:
• Protect and restore ecosystems
• Build defenses, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives
3. Mobilize finance
To deliver on our first two goals, developed countries must make good on their promise to mobilize at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020.
International financial institutions must play their part and we need work towards unleashing the trillions in private and public sector finance required to secure global net zero.
4. Work together to deliver
We can only rise to the challenges of the climate crisis by working together.
At COP26 we must:
• Finalize the Paris Rulebook (the detailed rules that make the Paris Agreement operational)
• Accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis through collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society.
‘COP26Notes’ is an OnePointFive Blog Series, where we are aiming to help our Audience of the OnePointFive Tribe break down the basics of climate negotiations at COPs. We hope this will help you critically think & participate in the dialogues that will follow - within our own societies, as the COP26 takes place this coming month.
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This Blog has been put together, using COP26 Official Communications and multiple news articles published online, in the run up to the event, including those by News18.