Facts to Know About COP26

Introduction

COP26 was the main headline of the news of Oct 2021. Do you know what this is? What does COP stand for, and what does number 26 depict? This article will serve as an answer book for all of your queries if you don’t know. The COP26 conference was recently held in Glasgow, England, in October of this year. The world leader gathered there to talk about their plans on zero-carbon emissions. Hence, before moving on further, it would be best to talk a little bit about COP26.

COP is an acronym that stands for “Conference of Parties.” And the number 26 represents the 26th annual conference held in the United Kingdom this year. This conference takes place annually, and it started in Berlin, Germany (1955). COP21 was a key conference in which Paris Agreement came into existence.

This conference is held to discuss plans to fight climate change. The adoption of the Paris Agreement had been a historic moment in this fight. The agreement sets the goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees Celsius. As a part of this agreement, countries also committed to submit their national plans to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Every five years, countries submit their reports and updated plans.

Themes of COP26

The COP26 has four key themes this year. These themes are as follows;

1. Keep Global Warming to 1.5 oC

The main agenda of this COP is about fighting rapid climate change. As we all know, we are experiencing the worst climates every year. Summer is becoming hotter and hotter every year. The same is the case with winter. This year’s winter will be cooler than the previous one. This is happening due to global warming.

To fight global warming, nations agreed on keeping global warming below 1.5 oC. To achieve this, countries will need to end the use of coal and should convert to electric vehicles. Countries should also curtail deforestation and encourage investments in renewable energy sources.

2. Protect Communities and Natural Habitats

The protection of the ecosystem is also the main agenda of COP26. The CEO of an essay writing service firm said that natural habitats are also suffering from the doings of humans. Plastic waste is playing a major role in the extinction of sea animals like fish. Countries also need to convert to a polythene free community.

Unlimited production and use of polythene are threatening sea life. This is because countries are dumping their plastic waste into the sea. Hence, COP is also working on the development and restoration of ecosystems.

3. Mobilize Finance

The developing nations don’t have the finance to fight climate change. In this regard, developed countries are bound to mobilize funds of $100 billion every year. These funds will help emerging countries in their fight against global warming and conversion to renewable energy sources. Developing nations have to present updated reports of spending of finances to United Nations every year. Hence, this way, the funds are being mobilized in our combat with climate change.

Read More: The Five Best Books on Writing

4. Work Together to Deliver

The fourth and the most important theme of COP26 was to work together to deliver. As no one nation can solve the problem of climate change. Every nation has its part in making our homeland worse to live on. Developed nations have a major part in it. So, to make this planet habitable in the coming year, nations should also be together.

Now, to work together and deliver, we need a global system. But we currently have a few markets and tax systems and not a coherent system. So, we can only rise to challenges by working together. Nations must accelerate the action to tackle climate crisis through collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society.

Ultimate Goals of COP26

The theme of COP26 is described in the upper portion of the article. Now, we will be discussing the goals of COP26 which it is trying to achieve. These goals include;

• Nations want to finalize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Article 6 commands to make a global carbon market. A market in which a government or business can pay for projects that cut emissions in other countries. Then those countries use those reductions to meet their own goals. A carbon market will direct funds to areas where emissions can be reduced most effectively.
• Conversion from coal or natural gas to renewable energy sources is a major goal of COP too. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar panels are much cheaper than coal or petroleum. That is why prices of renewable energy sources have fallen dramatically in recent years. China leads the world in clean energy investment. The annual global investment in renewable energy sources passed$200 billion in 2020.
• Making a policy can’t solve the problems of climate change. According to the dissertation writing service firm, we need collaboration between governments and organizations to fight together. The eradication of the use of fossil fuels is not possible without civic engagement. In response to this, 2000 largest companies of the world have already committed to net-zero carbon emission.
• Extensive use of electric vehicles is also in the goals of COP26. Many car companies are manufacturing electric vehicles like Tesla. The world’s roads will have 10 million electric vehicles at the end of 2020. According to IEA, this number will jump to 145 million in the next ten years.
• Forests are disappearing from the world. Extensive deforestation is taking place around the world. In the decade of 1990-2000, the world lost 7.8 million hectares of forest per year. But now we can see a reduction in this number. In the decade of 2010-2020, the world lost 4.7 million hectares of forest per year. The cumulative loss since 1990 adds up to an area equal to the size of Libya (178 million hectares).

Conclusion

There will only be a conclusion to climate change when we work together. We should limit the use of plastics and should adhere to the policies of the government. This is important because we all need a healthy environment to live in.