COP26 Day 2

[ancianita]

A look at inertia in showing up for planet life.

https://unfccc.int

Link to tweet

Scientists' Road Map

November 2019, a group of more than 11,000 scientists from 153 countries named climate change an "emergency" that would lead to "untold human suffering" if no big shifts in action takes place:[3][4][5]

We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency. To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.
The emergency declaration emphasized that economic growth and population growth "are among the most important drivers of increases in CO
2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion" and that "we need bold and drastic transformations regarding economic and population policies".[3]

A 2021 update to the 2019 climate emergency declaration focuses on 31 planetary vital signs (including greenhouse gases and temperature, rising sea levels, energy use, ice mass, ocean heat content, Amazon rainforest loss rate, etc), and recent changes to them. Of these, 18 are reaching critical levels. The COVID-19 lockdowns, which reduced transportation and consumption levels, had very little impact on mitigating or reversing these trends. The authors say only profound changes in human behavior can meet these challenges and emphasize the need to move beyond the idea that global heating is a stand alone emergency, and is one facet of the worsening environmental crisis. This necessitates the need for transformational system changes and to focus on the root cause of these crises, the vast human overexploitation of the earth, rather than just addressing symptom relief. They point to six areas where fundamental changes need to be made:[6]

(1) energy, eliminating fossil fuels and shifting to renewables;
(2) short-lived air pollutants, slashing black carbon (soot), methane, and hydrofluorocarbons;
(3) nature, restoring and permanently protecting Earth's ecosystems to store and accumulate carbon and restore biodiversity;
(4) food, switching to mostly plant-based diets, reducing food waste, and improving cropping practices;
(5) economy, moving from indefinite GDP growth and overconsumption by the wealthy to ecological economics and a circular economy, in which prices reflect the full environmental costs of goods and services; and
(6) human population, stabilizing and gradually reducing the population by providing voluntary family planning and supporting education and rights for all girls and young women, which has been proven to lower fertility rates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Scientists%27_Warning_to_Humanity

Leadership Inertia

The world leader's summit is taking place on Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd, with each leader giving a national statement.

An important goal of the conference organizers is to keep a 1.5 ॰C temperature rise within reach.[49] Coal phase out is also being discussed.

Xi Jinping, leader of China, one of the world's top three carbon emitters (China, U.S., India), is not in attendance, which makes it less likely the conference will result in a significant climate deal.

Less notably, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil are not in attendance.

Article 6

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which describes rules for an international carbon market and other forms of international cooperation, is being discussed as it is the last piece of the rulebook remaining be finalized.[51][52]
Although the parties have agreed in principle to avoid double counting of emission reduction across more than one country's greenhouse gas inventory, exactly how much double counting will actually occur remains unclear.[51] Carrying forward pre-2020 Kyoto carbon credits will be discussed, but is highly unlikely to be agreed.[53] Therefore Article 6 rules could make a big difference to future emissions.[53]


Climate finance
International finance for adaptation and mitigation are among the principal topics of negotiation.[54]
The Paris agreement included 100 billion USD in finance for 2020 for developing countries.[55]
However, wealthy countries failed to live up to that promise, with members of the OECD behind in their commitments – especially the US, which has been criticised for not contributing its fair share.[56]


Leading by Example


Travelling by plane creates double the carbon to get across the country than a car and more than six times what a train would use.

A one-way plane journey from London to Glasgow would create around 160kg of carbon.

A single tree soaks up just over half a kilogram of carbon each year.

Travelling to Glasgow by plane from London would require roughly 320 trees to suck up a year's worth of carbon from the atmosphere to ensure carbon neutrality.

Many of the world leaders attending COP will be traveling there by private jet, including US President Joe Biden who will be arriving by Airforce One.


Trains account for only about one per cent of Scottish transport’s greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile compared to 15 per cent for aircraft and 40 per cent for cars.

Several projects, such as hydrogen-powered trains, are due to showcased at the conference.

But a far greater endorsement would be for Amtrak Joe Biden to ride the rails to Cop26 once he’s touched down in the UK

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-29/cop26-can-you-get-to-glasgow-in-a-cheap-and-environmentally-friendly-way

If COP26 world leaders can't reach agreement on Article 6, their long term plan is just that.




Other COP26 posts:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017690924
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215978130