Three days ago, African leaders and international delegates arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate conference. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the leaders. Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta are among the African leaders who have attended the conference.
COP26 Climate conference is scheduled to take place from the 31st of October to the 12th of November will bring together representatives from over 200 countries. The conference will deliberate on new targets for reducing or slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
African countries are expected to use the conference to demand rich nations’ honour and deepen their pledges to fund the fight.
In 2009, rich countries pledged to raise $100 billion per year from all sources to assist poorer countries, a goal that was met by 2020. However, the target was not met, and Britain’s COP president, Alok Sharma, has admitted it is unlikely to happen before 2023.
Official figures show that between 70 and 80 percent of the $100 billion targets have been met, although many countries have yet to see the money, according to Britain’s COP president.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked leaders of wealthier nations to consider Africa’s unique demands and conditions in the fight against climate change.
He said, “Throughout Africa as the most vulnerable continent to the effects of climate change, countries are already experiencing loss and damage of an increasing magnitude and frequency.”
While Kenya has devised a plan to maintain a low-carbon growth trajectory by 2030, the economic implications of loss and damage to developing countries might reach $580 billion, according to the country’s president.
He also urged leaders of developed countries to provide tailored help to Africa, citing the continent’s unique concerns.
He stated, “We expect that detailed rules and procedures for implementing the Paris Agreement will be finalised and a clear way forward for a climate-resilient pathway set.” We also expect that the agreement will be sufficiently inclusive to accommodate the needs and priorities of developing countries and, in particular, the unique needs and circumstances of Africa.”
Some countries and their officials are not attending the summit, including China, whose President Xi Jinping announced his absence. And the president was not present at the G20 conference.
China submitted its climate targets to the UN, stating that it would peak carbon emissions by 2030 and strive for carbon neutrality by 2060.
During the COP26 Climate Summit, India’s Prime Minister stated that the country’s economy will be carbon neutral by 2070.
To ensure the summit’s success, Antonio Guterres advised world leaders that they needed to be as ambitious as possible.
He added, “Enough of brutalising biodiversity. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning, drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves.”
Background of COP26 Climate Conference
The Climate Conference (COP21) took place in Paris in 2015, and every country resolved to work together to keep global warming far below 2 degrees. With a goal of 1.5 degrees and adapting to the changing climate’s effects, the Paris Agreement was signed to avail money to achieve these goals.
The commitment to aim for 1.5 degrees is critical because even a fraction of warming will cause loss of lives and ruin many livelihoods.
For nearly three decades, the United Nations has brought almost every country on the planet together for global climate summits. The 26th annual meeting, dubbed COP26, will take place this year in Glasgow.
The conference’s goal is to develop an agreement on how to address climate change. The COP stands for Conference of the Parties.
The COP26 meeting began a day after the G20 economies summit held in Rome failed to commit to a 2050 target for reducing net carbon emissions, a deadline commonly considered vital to avoid the most severe global warming.
In the run-up to this year’s summit in Glasgow, governments will update their intentions to reduce emissions since the Paris agreements did not come close to reducing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
