The revised dates for COP26, the UN climate change conference, could be on 1 - 12 November 2021. Its venue would be Glasgow but the British government wants it shifted by a year. This is because of the threat of the Coronavirus pandemic. The UN's climate body hopes to meet soon to discuss its rescheduling. This conference is global platform to discuss various aspects of climate change that has far-reaching implications for the whole world. Hence, most of the world leaders could attend. In 2015, they had laid down policies to check climate change and concluded the Paris accord.
This year is important because the countries are supposed to bring forth their recommendations on how to go in for stronger emissions cuts. Then only can the world meet the goals of the deal.
The BBC says the UK cabinet office proposed the new dates without disturbing the venue. It has sent a letter to UN member states on the subject. The Paris Agreement wants countries to curb temperatures to certain levels in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The world is facing major disasters like melting of glaciers, flash floods, sea level rise and wildfires. Incidents like hurricanes and typhoons devastate the ecology and their frequency is increasing. These are effects of climate change and lead to loss of lives, habitats and properties.
Greenhouse gases are responsible for climate change
The world is trying to come to terms with coronavirus. Many countries have issued instructions for lockdown to prevent spread of the virus and governments have assigned priority to the global health crisis. Some countries are focusing on electric vehicles to minimize use of fossil fuels that generate harmful gases and global warming.
The Pars accord was signed in 2015 when Barack Obama was President. However, when Donald Trump came to power, he withdrew from the accord and Joe Biden, the new President, wants to rejoin, The BBC mentions about a plus point of the pandemic. It is a decline in greenhouse gas emissions, attributed to fewer industries in operation, less traffic on the roads and reduced demand for transportation.
Climate change could lead to irreversible ecological ruin unless checked.
Reversal of climate change possible through alternatives
The BBC adds experts caution that the CO2 pollution could rise unless the world takes necessary steps to arrest the generation of greenhouse gases. One way of doing this is to embrace Renewable Energy like solar power, or wind power. The governments should ensure the economic recovery from the pandemic is green oriented. This means they should invest in areas like renewables, public transport and cycling and tree planting. These could give a boost to employment potentials and improve lives.
Climate change summit and the coronavirus pandemic
According to Sky News, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to ensure the COP26 summit in November would be a face-to-face event.
He wants participants to pass through the vaccination procedure. However, there are signs that the pandemic is worsening in some parts of the world. Therefore, the authorities want the United Nations and the Scottish government to decide on the fate of the summit. As a government source said: “There are too many uncertainties. It will depend on what public health rules are brought in between now and then, and what happens with vaccinations of delegates." There are doubts on whether members would attend in person or whether it would be a virtual event. Incidentally, the last two COP summits had more than 20,000 attendees. They included dignitaries like heads of state, ministers and others. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was on the warpath before the Davos summit.
