Six years after the Paris agreements, the world has an appointment in Glasgow for the Cop26, from Sunday October 31. For two weeks, representatives of 197 countries will try to agree on common efforts to fight the global warming. Covid-19 requires, this summit comes two years after the Cop25 which was held in Madrid and which had been judged as a failure.
This climate conference is considered the most important since Cop21 in Paris in 2015. The text signed at the time set the objective of containing the increase in temperature to + 2 ° C, or even 1.5 ° C , at the end of the century.
What objectives for states?
In order not to exceed this figure, states had five years to raise their emission reduction targets. However, barely two thirds of countries have revised their roadmap. Big polluter, China did not release its new targets until last Thursday. For many observers, Beijing’s contribution is not ambitious enough.
The world is not on the right track to stay below 2 ° C
, recognizes the French Ministry of Ecological Transition. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, is even harder since he considers that the current commitments of States are a one-way ticket to disaster
. According to the UN, countries’ current commitments, if honored, would lead to 2.7 degrees warming in 2100.
Read also: Weather. A Gap Between State Actions and the Paris Agreement: Our Charts to Understand
Faced with this situation, France, which wants to guarantee the spirit of the Paris agreements, hopes that other countries will announce their climate ambition. France has a duty to set an example, but the policy led by Emmanuel Macron is not up to the task
, judge Clément Sénéchal of Greenpeace. He points to the fact that Paris has not revised its emissions reduction targets by 2030 (-40%), so the European Union presented an ambitious plan of -55% in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2050.
Carbon offset markets
Second central point of the COP26 negotiations, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This lays the foundations for the establishment of carbon offset markets. In other words, one state could buy emission reductions from another state to meet its targets. For the Ministry of Ecological Transition, a decision by the international community must be taken for these mechanisms to become operational. We want robust rules that guarantee environmental integrity
.
It’s a false solution
, retorts Clément Sénéchal. These are devices that are mainly used to save time and create a diversion. The players must commit to reducing their emissions at the source.
Aid for the poorest countries
The fund to help poor countries cope with the climate crisis will also be on the daily menu. In 2009, in Copenhagen, the rich countries pledged to increase this fund to 100 billion dollars per year in 2020. However in 2019, aid reached only 79.6 billion. The account is not there
, recognizes France, which on this issue is one of the good students.
Finally, the goal of 100 billion should not be reached until 2023, the organizers of the Cop26 assured this week. Better late than never. This fund is used to finance the transition of these countries but we must also ask the question of how to compensate countries grappling with the dramatic consequences of global warming.
, claims Clément Sénéchal who will be present in Glasgow to represent Greenpeace.
Paris also wants to take advantage of this Cop26 to start discussions on the new post 2025 goal
.
The delicate question of fossil fuels
Greenpeace also hopes that the issue of fossil fuels will be addressed. We are waiting for a final decision with a clear timetable for phasing out fossil fuels
, explains Clément Sénéchal. A sensitive issue for States. On October 21, the BBC revealed that several countries such as Saudi Arabia, India and Australia had tried to pressure IPCC experts to minimize in their report the need to quickly reduce the use of fossil fuels.
International unity
The last challenge will be to guarantee the unity of the international community and to find common ground between all the States. As in Paris, the heads of state or government will be in the front line, a sign that the Cop26 is considered a capital summit. We are in a crucial decade. Scientists tell us we have a chance of holding 1.5 ° C
, supports Clément Sénéchal.
But the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin or that or of Chinese President Xi Jinping questions the commitment of certain states. The Briton Alok Sharma, who will chair this Cop26, has already expressed fears that he will be definitely more difficult
than in Paris to reach a global agreement. It can go wrong
, also recognizes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but I think we can do it
.
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