COP 26 | Conference of the Parties

The 26th session of the Conference of the parties was held in Glasgow UK from 30th October to 12th November. The UK is working with many nations to make an agreement to tackle climate change. More than 190 country's leaders are expected to be present at the conference. It is an important movement for the world to gather together and accelerate the climate action plan.

Let us see in detail about COP and the key findings and goals of COP26.

Conference Of the Parties

The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the convention. It comes under UNFCCC (United nations framework convention on climate change). At the COP, all the states that are Parties to the convention are represented. Here they review the implementation of the convention and any other legal instruments that COP adopt and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the convention.

The COP meets every year. The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March 1995. Some of the responsibilities of the members states include:

• Formulating measures to mitigate climate change.

• Preparing for adaptation to impacts of climate change.

• Promoting education, training, and public awareness regarding climate change.

COP26

The COP26 was held to take the necessary steps to reduce emissions, mobilize funding, and boost adaptation and resilience. They have pledged to stop deforestation by the end of the decade and reduce emissions of methane to slow climate change.

Goals of COP26

The following are four goals of COP26:

1. Secure global net-zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach- Countries have to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century. To reach 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

We need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change too:

• protect and restore ecosystems

• build defenses, warning systems, and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods, and even lives

3. Mobilise finance: To deliver the first two goals, developed countries must promise to mobilize at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020.

4. Work together to deliver: The challenges of the climate crisis can be solved by working together.

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.

Some of the pledges made during COP26 are:

Methane pledge:

• Pledge to cut methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 was signed at COP26.

• The pledge states that "The short atmospheric lifetime of methane means that taking action now can rapidly reduce the rate of global warming and that readily available cost-effective methane emission measures have the potential to avoid over 0.2 degrees Celsius of warming by 2050."

• Methane is a deadly greenhouse gas and the second biggest contributor to global warming, after carbon dioxide.

• Methane is over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide when observed over a 20 year period, but stays in the air for a much shorter time.

• The pledge to cut methane emissions was initiated by the US, under the leadership of President Joe Biden, and the European Commission in September, and was finally signed by 103 countries.

• India didn't sign the pledge.

Deforestation pledge:

• Many countries, led by the United Kingdom, have pledged to end deforestation by 2030 during the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties (COP26). The declaration is known as Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forest and Land Use.

• This commitment will help end the devastating effects of deforestation and support the developing countries and indigenous communities that are the guardians of so much of the world's forests.

• Scientific approaches to tree planting and restricting ruthless chopping is the main approach to changing climate.

• Curbing deforestation is extremely important in limiting emissions from land-use change.

• India didn't sign the pledge.

One sun One world One grid group

'One sun One world One grid' initiative was put forth by PM Modi at the ‘Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment’ event at COP26.

This initiative will not only reduce storage needs but also enhance the viability of solar projects. This creative initiative will not only reduce carbon footprints and energy costs but also open a new avenue for cooperation between different countries and regions.

Hope this was helpful for you to enhance your knowledge, keep reading our blogs.

Cheers Apsed.