From October 31st to November 12th, world leaders from 196 countries will be meeting in Glasgow for the UN climate conference. The purpose of the conference is for world leaders to discuss the actions they will take to fight climate change. The leaders will discuss whether they have accomplished enough of the goals from the earlier 2015 Paris agreement where they agreed to prevent a 1.5 °C temperature increase. However, they have already failed to meet that goal as temperatures are expected to increase by up to 3 °C.
This year, a goal to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is expected to be proposed. The hope is that, with this goal in place, emissions will reach net zero by 2050. This would mean that the amount of greenhouse gas removed from the atmosphere would be equal to the amount emitted (ie. net zero emissions) which would mean that, essentially, no emissions were being released into the atmosphere. There are many steps countries can take to achieve this goals, but reducing fossil fuel usage, investing in renewable energy infrastructure, and ending deforestation are some of the most beneficial steps a country can take.
Additionally, The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) will occur at the end of this month and aims to provide developing countries with the measures they’ll need to tackle climate change. The drought, flooding, and soil salinization brought about by climate change is devastating these countries and are demanding funding so they can achieve the necessary measures to decrease the damage of climate change. These developing countries assert that if no compensation or allowance is given to them, the UN conference will have been a failure.
Developing countries are particularly exasperated because the wealthies countries have failed to meet their past promises. The wealthiest countries had promised to contribute 100 billion dollars a year to help fulfill developing countries' demands at the last conference, but, only contributed 79 billion. Furthermore, by 2018 around 75% of the money was contributed as loans which need to be paid back, In essence, the wealthiest countries have failed to provide for our planet in these times of need and have damaged the longevity of developing communities.
The two main goals that should be achieved at UN conference are:
Reducing coal/fossil fuel usage
Ensuing richer countries fulfill their 100 billion dollar financial pledge.
If these two goals are accomplished, the conference can be declared a success, but, if not, the Earth’s future remains uncertain. Although there is still a chance that these goals will be met and we will be on our way to protecting our Earth from climate change, holding our governments and peers accountable for their actions should make these goals more achievable.
Meera M
The Carbon Newsprint
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