The main part of the climate conference ended with the signing of two agreements aimed at combating global warming.
At the UN Global Climate Conference in Glasgow, leaders of more than 100 countries, including Ukraine, committed themselves to strengthening the fight against deforestation and reducing methane emissions in the fight against global warming.
Deforestation should be stopped by 2030. By this time, methane emissions should be reduced by 30 percent. Environmentalists, however, criticize the agreement as insufficient. Correspondent.net tells the details.
Stop deforestation
During the two-week UN climate change conference COP26, the main part of which ended the day before, 124 states adopted declaration, which states that deforestation must be stopped by 2030 as part of the fight against global warming.
The Declaration was supported by countries that account for more than 85 percent of the world’s forests, including boreal coniferous forests in Canada, the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and tropical rainforests in the Congo Basin.
The agreement envisages the allocation of about $ 20 billion, part of this funds will be used to fight forest fires and restore already damaged forest areas.
The countries that supported the declaration intend to work in six directions. In particular, they plan to take active steps to accelerate reforestation and develop new trade practices that would promote sustainable development.
The declaration also speaks of the need to apply incentive programs in the field of agriculture, which would take into account the issues of environmental protection, as well as an increase in the amount of funds allocated for the protection of forests.
It should be noted that over the past decade, about 40 times more funds have been spent on destructive land use methods than on the protection and restoration of land, as well as on the transition to sustainable agricultural practices.
The pledge, also signed by more than 30 financial institutions with a combined capital of $ 8.7 trillion, is intended to change the current situation.
The fulfillment of global commitments in the field of climate protection is impossible without the preservation and restoration of the world’s forests, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking at the UN conference.
“If we want to fulfill the goal set in the Paris Agreement regarding [удержания потепления на планете в пределах] 1.5 degrees, we must preserve and restore our forests. I’m sure we can do it, “he said.
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At the summit, US President Joe Biden, who calls climate protection one of his priorities, presented “the world’s first forest conservation plan” that will implement the signed declaration.
The plan will combine US diplomatic, economic and political tools to prevent deforestation and improve land management, Biden said.
The plan, which will target up to $ 9 billion, will help restore at least two million hectares of forest and other ecosystems by 2030, the American president said.
Reduce methane emissions
Another important agreement signed at the Glasgow conference concerns greenhouse gas emissions. 105 countries have joined the EU-US initiative to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
Methane is the main greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. It has a higher heat-trapping potential than CO2, but it degrades faster in the atmosphere – which means that reducing methane emissions can have a quick impact on curbing global warming.
40 percent of emissions come from natural sources such as wetlands, but most come from human activities. One of the largest sources of emissions is the extraction, transportation and use of natural gas.
Meeting the Glasgow target is projected to reduce global warming by 0.2 degrees Celsius by 2050. Failure to tackle methane will make the goal of the Paris Agreement unattainable.
Among those who supported the project are half of the 30 countries that account for the largest amount of methane produced and which make up two-thirds of the world economy. The first two places are occupied by the European Union and the United States.
The rest of the five includes Russia, China and India, but they did not sign the agreement, although they account for 35 percent of all methane emissions from human activities.
Ukraine, which signed the agreement, intends to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030.
This was stated at the UN conference by President Volodymyr Zelensky. In terms of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, Ukraine is now in 31st place in the world
“Ukraine was one of the first in Europe to ratify the Paris Agreement. It ranks fourth among 45 parties to the UN convention in terms of emission reductions. Our goals by 2030 are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent and achieve climate neutrality by 2060,” – quoted by the UN website.
Why is the Glasgow summit criticized?
Environmental organization Greenpeace criticized the Glasgow deal as insufficient. It is effectively giving the green light to “another decade of deforestation,” the organization said.
In addition, many have expressed doubts that the authorities in Brazil, where deforestation has increased dramatically in recent years and significant tracts of the Amazon rainforest have been cleared, will actually take the proper action.
It is worth noting that they already agreed on forests in 2014, but since then the felling has only increased. And the reason for it is not so much the greed and poverty of those who cut down the jungle. Forests are cut to produce palm oil, cocoa beans and soybeans, which are not consumed by them, but by other countries.
The money pledged to fight deforestation and regeneration is small – $ 20 billion, of which $ 12 billion is not new, but long-standing government allocations to fight forest fires and help indigenous peoples, and seven billion – donations from philanthropists and businesses.
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As for the agreement on methane, it is in itself half-hearted, even if it were signed by Russia, China and India, which are responsible for a third of its emissions into the atmosphere.
The summit was summed up by Prince Charles: “I just can’t believe how many times over the past 40 years I have made such speeches in all parts of the world – and everything is useless. And this time I can only pray that this meeting will prove that systemic changes are long overdue.”
And as BBC News notes, Johnson, who usually sparks optimism even in the darkest impasse of life, refused to triumph and made a low-key speech.
“You should not flatter yourself with empty hopes and in no case should you think that the deed is done because it has not been done – there is still a long way to go. But, despite all that has been said, I feel restrained optimism,” the British prime minister said.
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