Agenda For COP26

THE 26TH session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is being held at a time when the impacts of global warming are more palpable than ever—both for the poor and the rich.

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Scientists mince no words while attributing extreme weather events to past greenhouse gas emissions and say this decade is our last chance to stay under 1.5oC, beyond which extreme weather will take hold. Poor and developing economies, shaken by the covid-19 pandemic, are growing frustrated like never before. They demand that rich countries, who are largely responsible for the stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, commit to their pledge and transfer funds to cope with climate crisis as well as for a green recovery.

Down To Earth and the Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi, have prepared a list of agenda items that must be brought to the table at COP26 to ensure that the world turns a corner on climate crisis at this summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

AGENDA 1: CARBON NET ZERO

PATHWAY UNCLEAR

Emissions must be negated by absorption or removal of an equivalent amount of CO 2 by various means. The world must become a net-zero carbon emitter by 2050 to limit the temperature rise to 1.5oC. Most nations do not have a clear plan on how to be net-zero by 2050, or in the case of China, by 2060

THE RACE to “net zero” has become a rallying point for leaders and civil society alike. But this call for action, however shrill, discounts what it means for the rich and poor countries to get the world to the point when, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says, “human activities result in no net effect on the climate system.”