COP26 President: There will be countries that will be under water

Glasgow. The United Nations COP26 summit, which begins today in Glasgow, has been heralded as a decisive opportunity to save the planet from the most dire effects of climate change.

Delayed by a year by the covid-19 pandemic, COP26 aims to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels, the limit that scientists say would avoid its further consequences. destructive.

We must leave Glasgow saying with credibility that we have kept the 1.5 alive, “said Alok Sharma, president of COP26, yesterday, as delegates began to arrive in the Scottish city.

“We are already in global warming 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial levels,” he told Sky News. “With 1.5 there will be countries in the world that will be underwater, and that is why we need to reach an agreement here on how to tackle climate change over the next decade.”

Reaching the 1.5 ° C target, agreed in Paris with much fanfare in 2015, will require increased political momentum and diplomatic effort to make up for the insufficient action and empty promises that have characterized much of global climate politics.

Existing promises to cut emissions would cause the planet’s average temperature to rise by 2.7 ° C this century, which the UN says would overburden the destruction that climate change is already causing by intensifying storms, exposing more people to heat. deadly and floods, kill coral reefs and destroy natural habitats.

In addition to the challenging geopolitical backdrop, a global energy crisis has prompted China to turn to highly polluting coal to avoid energy shortages, while Europe searches for more gas, another fossil fuel.

Rich and poor

Ultimately, the negotiations will come down to questions of fairness and trust between rich countries, whose greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change, and poor countries, who will be asked to decarbonise their economies with insufficient financial support.

Covid-19 has exacerbated the divide between rich and poor. Lack of vaccinations and travel restrictions mean that some representatives from the poorest countries cannot attend the meeting.

Other hurdles – for example sky-high hotel rates in Glasgow – have fueled concerns that there is under-representation of civil society groups from poorer nations, who are most at risk from global warming.

Covid-19 will make the climate conference different from any other, the 25,000 delegates will need to wear face masks, socially distance themselves, and produce a negative covid-19 test to enter each day.