COP26: An Opportunity That Should Not Be Missed

"Who We Were" is the question asked by a civilization in crisis, which looks back on its past and seeks solutions for the future.

GLASGOW / ROME - Climate change is not a distant threat anymore; we are in a climate catastrophe. Although there are several new commitments by every nation-state on earth, we are still on track for at least a 2.7°C increase in global temperature this century. This would mean a 62% increase in wildfires, loss of habitat of a third of the mammals in the world, and more frequent four to 10 month-long droughts. “Without decisive action, we are gambling away our last chance to – literally - turn the tide”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.

The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the third meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement is set to take place over the coming two weeks, starting today, after having been postponed from last year.

This year's conference marks the first iteration of the "ratchet mechanism" where each country should submit enhanced nationally determined contributions, which shall be taken into account during the "global stocktake" in 2023. This Washington Post article elaborates on the top issues to be discussed at this year's summit.

The president of China, Xi Jinping has stated he will not be attending the conference in person and so will Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

China is currently the biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses (28%), followed by the United States (15%), India (7%), and Russia (5%).

Ahead of the summit, Italy also hosted a two-day G20 summit in Rome, with a special emphasis on climate. This marked the first in-person gathering of leaders of the world’s biggest economies since COVID-19 started. “G-20 members are responsible for over 80% of global emissions. So there is a responsibility when they come together as a group to think about the promise of $100 billion in annual climate financing that is not being met,” said Renata Dwan, deputy director of Chatham House.

The steep decrease of human activity during the COVID-19 lockdowns provided a glimpse of what a post fossil fuel world could look like. While postponing the conference, the secretary of UNFCCC Patricia Espinosa had said the economies restarting after the pandemic have the opportunity to "shape the 21st-century economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, just, safe and more resilient." Whether nations would take that opportunity is to be seen at the conference.

COP26 is the summit to address what has and hasn’t been achieved since 2015, to set concrete plans to reach Paris Agreement targets, and an opportunity to "build back better" after a devastating pandemic.

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet recounts the monumental scale of humanity's impact on nature.