Let's start with COP26. In short, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. But officially, this is the full name of the 26th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Let's explain in detail.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was opened for signature at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (also known as the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Convention aims to reduce greenhouse gases to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The Convention entered into force in 1994 and currently has 197 Parties (196 countries plus the European Union). Since 1995, the Parties have held an annual formal meeting, known as the Conference of the Parties. COP stands for Conference of the Parties.
COP26 was originally scheduled to take place in Glasgow in 2020, but was postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS)
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for global action to end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the well-being and future of all people.
The 17 goals were unanimously adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The agenda sets a course for the world to achieve 17 goals within 15 years.
Goal 13 calls for urgent action to address climate change and its impacts. It can be argued that climate change will have an impact on the achievement of all other goals. The 2030 Agenda cannot be achieved without a serious response to climate change.
Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
Under the Paris Agreement, countries must draw up detailed plans to show how they will reduce their emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. All countries are expected to update their nationally determined contributions to demonstrate greater emissions reduction ambitions.
At present, these plans are insufficient to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels. This year, therefore, countries are under intense pressure to significantly increase their level of ambition.
net-zero emission
The IPCC defines net zero emissions as when all greenhouse gas emissions in an organization balance greenhouse gas removals in a year. For example, by transitioning to a green economy and clean renewable energy, including oceans and forests that absorb greenhouse gas emissions.
In fact, the Paris Agreement calls for limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels. However, if we continue to emit the emissions that cause climate change, temperatures will continue to rise well beyond 1.5 ° C, threatening the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. That's why more and more countries are committing to net-zero emissions by 2050. This is a daunting task that requires immediate and ambitious action.
1.5 ℃
During the COP26, you will hear a lot about the "1.5 ° C target." In 2018, an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report prepared by thousands of scientists and governments found that the worst climate impacts could be avoided and a livable climate maintained by limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels.
According to the latest data, global temperatures have already risen by 1.06 ° C to 1.26 ° C above pre-industrial levels. Even if current commitments are fully met, global temperatures will still rise by 2.7 ° C this century. This means that both ecosystems and life as we know it could be facing collapse.
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body that assesses the science related to climate change.
The IPCC was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view of the state of understanding of current climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.
The IPCC report is also the main basis for the international climate change negotiations during COP26. A major IPCC report released in August found that unless there are rapid, sustained and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, methane and other emissions, the goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 ° C will be out of reach.
Small island developing States
Small island developing States are a unique group of 58 low-coastal States. These countries are highly vulnerable and often suffer the effects of extreme weather and climate change, including cyclones, storm surges, heavy rains, droughts, rising sea levels and increased ocean acidification.
During the recent High-level Week of the United Nations General Assembly, state leaders from Fiji, Tuvalu and the Maldives spoke out on behalf of small island developing States. They say the small island states face an existential threat if rich nations fail to live up to their promises to reverse global warming.
Climate finance
Addressing climate change requires financial resources and sound investments to reduce emissions, promote adaptation to impacts already occurring, and build resilience.
Climate finance can take place at the local, national or transnational level. Such financing may come from public, private and other sources of financing. Climate finance is critical to tackling climate change and promoting adaptation, as large-scale investments are needed to significantly reduce emissions, especially in sectors that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases.
In 2009, during COP15 in Copenhagen, rich countries pledged to provide $100 billion a year by 2020 to less rich countries to help them adapt to climate change and slow further temperature rises.
That promise remains unfulfilled. The total amount of climate finance currently available to developing countries is about $80 billion. Climate finance will therefore be one of the most important issues to be discussed during COP26.
Science-based goal initiatives
The Science-based Goals Initiative is supported by the United Nations. Companies that have signed up to the initiative set science-based emission reduction targets, which prepare them for climate change and improve their competitive advantage in the transition to a zero-carbon economy.
Setting science-based targets has become standard business practice. Businesses play an important role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the implementation of national commitments.
Nature-based solutions
Nature-based solutions refer to the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and their sustainable management so that they can respond effectively and adaptively to societal challenges for the benefit of human well-being and biodiversity.
Nature-based solutions are an important part of global efforts to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change and are an important complement to decarbonizing, reducing the risks of climate change and building climate-resilient societies.
Large-scale afforestation, for example, can absorb carbon dioxide and provide protection from heavy rainfall. Restoring mangroves provides an effective and inexpensive natural barrier against coastal flooding and prevents shoreline erosion.
Group of 20
The G20 is an intergovernmental forum made up of most of the world's largest economies: 19 countries and the European Union. They address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
The UN Secretary General has made it clear that climate action must be led by the G20 countries, which together account for about 90 per cent of world GDP, 75 to 80 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world's population.
The G20's commitments during COP26 are critical to curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Group of African climate Change negotiators
The African Group of Climate Change Negotiators was established in 1995 at the COP1 conference in Berlin, Germany, as a coalition of African member states to represent the region's interests and speak with a common and unified voice in international climate change negotiations.
Global Climate Action Agenda
In addition to formal intergovernmental negotiations, countries, cities, regions, businesses and members of civil society around the world are also taking action on climate issues.
The Global Climate Action Agenda was launched under the Lima Paris Action Agenda to promote accelerated climate action, foster collaboration between governments, local authorities, the business community, investors and civil society, and support the adoption and implementation of the Paris Agreement.
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