Decoding COP26 / The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021

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December 7, 2021

No matter who you are, where you stay, how much money you make or what kind of job you do; there’s one thing no one can escape from - the consequences and effects of climate change. We as a global community have been speaking up and understanding the rapidly changing scenes of global warming. Three weeks ago, the international committee of UNFCCC held the COP26 event in Glasgow where the delegates of all the countries discussed in detail about the ongoing situation and renewed the Paris Agreement of 2015 of keeping global warming temperature at 1.5 degree Celsius. Many eminent scientists, climate change activists and even young people were invited to the forum to raise their voice and talk about the changing face of the earth.

By the end of the two-week long conference, the citizens had mixed opinions and feelings on the events that unfolded in the meetings. Some were happy with the fact that there was dialogue, while some believed that the people in power were all talk and no action. Protestors were even seen outside the building where the conference was going on which included climate activists like Greta Thunberg, the indigenous community and people from minority groups.

Positively, a lot of pledges were made. Some countries like Bhutan had already achieved their goals before their timeline and all the nations signed the Glasgow Climate Pact. Unfortunately, the goal of consigning coal power to history did not happen, wealthier nations did not show willingness in terms of funding to the underdeveloped nations like Maldives and Tuvalu who have no contribution to global warming and climate change, but are the ones facing the most severe consequences of the same. Even the indigenous communities and tribes were excluded. 

The Tuvalu Prime Minister gave a speech in the sea to show the existential threat of the low-lying island caused by climate change.  Source : The Guardian

Although progress was made, citizens believe that we have gone far beyond the point of planning. Climate change is no longer a threat just to the future generations, but it poses as one even today. Citizens across the world are already facing an ‘existential’ threat and might be on the verge of becoming climate ‘refugees’ in the next three to four decades.

With islands sinking deeper into the water, ice caps melting, sea levels rising, animals going endangered or extinct; climate change is no longer something to avoid or take lightly. Protestors of COP26 believe that the most powerful politicians and world leaders don’t represent their climate reality, and have reached no productive outcome to climate negotiations. Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate activist said, “You cannot adapt to starvation. You cannot adapt to extinction. You cannot adapt to lost culture and heritage.” They wanted better reforms for ‘fossil fuels’ and for banks to stop funding oil reserves.

According to an article published by Carbon Brief, the US has released more than 509GT Co2 since 1850 and is responsible for the largest share of historical emissions, followed by China and Russia. The same nations however did not show accountability in the COP26 conference.

Although India pledged to have net zero emissions by 2040 and achieve its goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030; their last minute intervention on “phasing-down” coal instead of “phasing-out” was frowned upon by other countries. They expressed their disappointment saying that this will cause a hindrance in the goal of keeping global temperature stable at 1.5 degree Celsius. On the other hand, it wasn’t just India who proposed this change; but coal-dependent countries like China and Australia were also a part of it. This makes you think whether COP26 was all about pledges for the future, or the only right direction that made an impact.

The meeting ended with no concrete solutions and the delegates decided to meet next year with a better agenda and plan for their country. Even the United Nations Secretary General : António Guterres during his wrap-up speech said “It is an important step, but it is not enough. Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe. It is time to go into emergency mode — or our chance of reaching net-zero will itself be zero.” Evidently, the success or failure of COP26 depends on how one views progress. It is always good to talk about issues on a global scale through organisations like the United Nations and conferences like COP26; it is good that awareness is being spread, hard conversations are being heard, but it becomes pointless if no action is taken. Climate change influences everyone. It becomes urgent when all 7.7 billion people on the planet are threatened. What poses a risk of failure is the fact that success relies on pledges for future actions. But how do you define a future when you don’t even know if you’ll have one? What do you do when it all comes down to a matter of life and death?