The leaders and representatives present this Thursday (4) at the 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) met, on the fourth day of the conference, to discuss the acceleration of the global transition to clean energy.
In addition, some important announcements about the end of financing for coal and fossil fuels were made at the meeting.
Check out the highlights of the fourth day of COP26:
COP26 promises may limit warming to 1.8 degrees
Scientists say global warming must be kept 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and the goal of COP26 is to keep that goal within reach.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported on Thursday (4) that warming could be limited to 1.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, if all COP26 commitments are made at the Wednesday night (3) are met on time.
This is big news for COP26, as the UN reported in September that the planet is falling to 2.7 degrees. This analysis considered countries’ pledges prior to COP26, but did not include the most recent developments.
“The result is extremely encouraging,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told an audience at a COP26 event. “If all the carbon and methane neutrality promises were fully implemented, we would have a temperature rise trajectory of 1.8 Celsius. This is excellent.”
historical revolution
Twenty countries agreed to end the financing of fossil fuel projects abroad in an agreement announced on Thursday (4). Several nations have already agreed to end international financing for coal, but this agreement is the first of its kind to also include oil and gas projects.
The strength of the deal will depend on how many countries sign it and whether it can bring on board some of the biggest fossil fuel financing nations.
“This is a historic advance that would not have been possible just a few years ago,” Iskander Erzini Vernoit, climate finance expert at think tank E3G, told CNN International. “This leading group of countries shows how energy regulations are changing rapidly.”
Natural Resources Defense Council senior strategic director Jake Schmidt said the deal “will help drive the transition to renewable energy,” but also noted that President Joe Biden still has a lot of work to do to ensure that the US are fully on board.
Main countries absent from the coal agreement
The UK government announced this Thursday (4) that 23 new countries have pledged to eliminate coal, but some of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases so far have refused a pledge to eliminate the use of fossil fuel.
China, India and the United States have not signed the Global Coal to Clean Energy Transition Declaration. The new commitments bring the total number of signatories to 46 and include some major coal users including Indonesia, Ukraine and South Korea.
COP26 President Alok Sharma said an agreement on the elimination of coal is one of the summit’s main goals.
The targets fall short of what experts, including the IEA, say is needed to achieve net zero by 2050. Net zero emissions can be achieved if countries reduce current greenhouse gas emissions and also remove some of what is already. in the atmosphere, so the net addition is zero.
Developing countries need more money to adapt
The United Nations Environment Program reported at Thursday’s meeting that the gap is widening between the impacts of the climate crisis and the world’s efforts to adapt to them.
In addition to pledging to limit warming, the governments of rich nations in the 2015 Paris Agreement reaffirmed their commitment to contribute $100 billion a year to the poorest nations to stop using fossil fuels and adapt to the disasters caused by climate change.
Developing nations, especially those in the Global South, are more likely to suffer the worst effects of the climate crisis, despite their small contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
But rich countries have not kept their original promise, and the promise has not kept pace with the impacts of the climate crisis.
“The Paris Agreement says that funding for adaptation and mitigation needs to be in a certain degree of balance,” Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director, told CNN International. “Those who live in the poorest countries will suffer the most, so ensuring that there is a certain degree of equity and a certain degree of global solidarity in financing adaptation is critical.”
Activists urge police to retreat
Outside the talks, climate activists are calling on Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon to intervene in what they say is a strong police presence in Glasgow, Scotland, where COP26 is being held.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, three groups — COP26 Coalition, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and Climate Coalition — said that “the disproportionately high number of deployed police, combined with intrusive police surveillance” is creating “an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and unacceptable inhibiting effect on the right to protest. ”
A CNN International contacted Sturgeon’s office, but did not receive a response until this article was published.
The call comes ahead of the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice, celebrated next Saturday (6), which will attract a large number of protesters in Glasgow and around the world.
Activists are calling on Sturgeon to ensure that the Scottish police are committed to protecting their right to protest and not engaging in excessive use of force or “directing the arrest on the organisers”, especially black people and people with disabilities (PwD).
“As we move closer and closer to the climate catastrophe and negotiators determine the fate of billions around the world, it is absolutely vital that civil society movements in Scotland, the UK and around the world are able to make their voices known. heard on the streets of Glasgow,” said Mary Church in a statement on behalf of Coalition COP26.
“Still, the police are using intimidating tactics and abusing their powers to stifle the fundamental right to peaceful protest.”
The European Union is not enthusiastic about the idea of climate fixes, a major theme of the COP26 meeting. Many of the world’s least developed countries and small islands are pushing for “loss and damage” financing, asking to be compensated for the hardships climate change has already caused their people.
Asked by CNN International on the EU’s position on the issue, the Commission’s lead climate negotiator Jacob Werksmon said the Paris Agreement “is not a liability and compensation regime” when asked whether the EU was advocating for or against one of the more controversial issues at this year’s UN climate conference in Glasgow.
“It is not intended to be a means by which countries negotiate what a country should, based on the theory of responsibility, pay other countries based on what they are experiencing in impacts,” he said, adding that the EU “recognises” that the The disproportionate impact of climate change on less developed countries “is a very, very legitimate concern.”
The COP26 national pavilion area this Thursday (4) received several attractions, including exhibitions and events. In an effort to attract more visitors, some have turned to things that always work: drinks and snacks.
Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, was offering drinks in the Brazilian pavilion, while the United Kingdom was to hold an evening reception at its “stand” later this Thursday (4).
While Australia’s climate policy is not popular with many of the delegates at COP26, the coffee served at the Australian pavilion (sponsored by fossil fuel company Santos) was a success.
Ella Nilsen and Rachel Ramirez of CNN contributed to this report.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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