- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which begins in Glasgow, Scotland, could be the final chance for humanity to save Planet Earth from catastrophic changes caused by unrestrained global warming, scientists, experts and activists have warned.
On October 25, the UN Environment Programme warned that under the present national climate commitments, the world is set for a 2.7-degree Celsius temperature rise by the end of the 21st century, which is way above the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep it under two degrees compared to what it was at the beginning of the industrial era.
ALSO READ: The hope we get in COP26 has eluded us in past two-and-half decades
In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s largest group of climate experts, said that unless countries agree to see a steep reduction in carbon emissions, the global temperature will go up by more than 1.5-degree Celsius in the next 10-20 years compared to the pre-industrial times.
Environmental experts and activists believe in this situation, the Glasgow summit could be the last opportunity for the planet to take a decisive action on restricting global warming.
Let COP26 not just be a talking shop: India
COP26 is expected to see the presence of more than 25,000 delegates. One of the main agenda of the summit is to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius goal alive. Besides, the countries will also have to agree on many other critical environmental issues, such as carbon markets, climate finance, etc. The summit will go on till November 12.
In the previous climate talks that were held in Madrid, Spain, in 2019, the participating nations could not reach an agreement on new-market mechanisms. Many of the crucial issues were left unresolved. At COP26, those issues must be taken up.
India rubbishes net zero carbon emissions target
More than 120 world leaders, including Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, will take part at COP26’s World Leaders’ Summit on Monday (1) and Tuesday (2). US president Joe Biden, British prime minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will also be among the attendees. The leaders are expected to set the tone for the summit and reveal their intent of containing global warming before the actual negotiations begin.
At the Rome G20 Summit that preceded COP26, countries engaged over the climate crisis. G20 leaders, including Modi, were expected to agree on how to deal with the crisis and see a fast transition to a low-carbon economy.
Indian daily Hindustan Times quoted Sunita Narain, director general of advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, as saying in a media briefing, “This time, world leaders will set the agenda for COP26, which is a positive development.”
“Over the past few decades, climate negotiations were going nowhere. COP26 must reclaim its leadership and the trust of people from across the world, both rich and poor. It must not be lost to the usual prevarication in negotiations and the tantrums and posturings of pusillanimous leaders.”
Indian environment minister Bhupender Yadav, who will be at COP26, told the same daily on October 29 that for India, two critical issues at the summit are climate finance and carbon markets. He also said that India seeks a level-playing field for all nations by striving for climate finance and technology transfer.
