Why can’t COP27 just be a virtual meeting? Your questions answered | 24CA News
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As world leaders and high-profile delegates focus on and debate the query of the best way to remedy local weather change at COP27 in Egypt, we listened to your questions in regards to the local weather convention.
Let’s begin with the fundamentals.
What is COP27?
Every 12 months the United Nations holds these conferences to get governments to agree on steps to restrict international warming as nations battle to chop down on greenhouse fuel emissions.
COP stands for “Conference of the Parties” and 27 simply means it is the twenty seventh such occasion because the first COP assembly was held in Berlin in March 1995. This 12 months it’s happening in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, till Nov. 18.
What is the aim for COP27?
According to opening remarks by UN Secretary-General António Guterres the final word aim is to encourage motion in direction of the world’s collective local weather objectives dedicated to with the Paris Agreement in 2015.
So basically, the overarching aim is limiting the worldwide common temperature rise this century to lower than 2 C, ideally nearer to 1.5 C above pre-industrial ranges. Guterres stated that aim will solely be potential if the world can obtain net-zero emissions by 2050.
Julie Segal, a local weather finance skilled from Environmental Defence, who’s attending the convention says “the litmus test for this COP to be a success is to move forward with what’s called a loss and damage fund mechanism.”
She says loss and injury funding would guarantee rich nations are offering funds to the nations bearing the heaviest burden of local weather change but have contributed much less to the local weather disaster itself.
World leaders must take heed to what the Global South wants by way of financing after which ship on the mitigation efforts, Segal stated.
WATCH | Who the Global South says ought to pay for the consequences of local weather change:
Vulnerable nations are bearing the brunt of local weather change, despite the fact that they aren’t those driving it. At COP27, leaders from the Global South will inform wealthy nations — the world’s highest greenhouse fuel emitters — that it is time to pay for damages.
Alden Meyer — a senior affiliate at E3G, a local weather change think-tank — who has been attending COP because it first began, says that slicing down on emissions globally and getting creating nations to adapt to local weather change are additionally primary problems with focus this 12 months, together with loss and injury funding.
“Cross cutting all of them is finance [and] the need to mobilize substantially more finance to do all three of those things,” he stated.
What is at stake in these negotiations?
“The future of the planet is at stake,” stated Meyer.
The UN secretary-general delivered the same message when the convention started.
“Humanity has a choice: co-operate or perish,” Guterres advised delegates. He urged them to speed up the transition from fossil fuels and pace up funding to poorer nations struggling beneath the consequences of local weather change to this point.
Despite a long time of local weather talks, nations have failed to cut back international greenhouse fuel emissions, and their pledges to take action sooner or later are inadequate to maintain the local weather from warming to a degree scientists say will probably be catastrophic.
Guterres even went on to make the grim declaration that the shortage of progress to this point had the world rushing down a “freeway to hell.”
Has there been any progress since COP26?
At final 12 months’s assembly, world leaders agreed to transition away from fossil fuels and minimize greenhouse fuel emissions quicker than previously. All 193 nations concerned within the Paris Agreement agreed to revisit their nationally decided contributions (NDCs).
Most nations, together with Canada, haven’t submitted an up to date NDC since COP26. Here is the place you’ll be able to see which nations have made submissions and the way sturdy their new commitments are.
Although international progress has been sluggish, Meyer stated some has been made since COP26 in Glasgow final 12 months.
According to present commitments, world emissions will enhance by about 10 per cent by 2030, in comparison with 2010 ranges, Meyer stated. He notes that represents an enchancment over final 12 months’s evaluation, which discovered nations had been on a path to extend emissions by about 14 per cent.
“So yes, we’re making progress but nowhere near the pace that we need to, and we don’t have enough time,” he stated.
Who is Canada sending to COP27?
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, this nation’s core delegation is round 335 members.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is just not attending, as a substitute Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault is main the delegation. It consists of politicians and representatives from the business and labour sectors, from most provinces and territories and there are additionally youth and Indigenous representatives.
Who pays for Canada’s attendees?
The federal authorities is paying for the participation of federal officers, Environment and Climate Change Canada stated to 24CA News in an e mail.
It can be serving to pay for as much as six representatives from every group: Indigenous Leaders, assist workers, parliamentarians, youth representatives, and environmental non-governmental organizations.
All different individuals, whereas accredited to the Canadian delegation, have lined their very own prices.
Ottawa additionally says they’re working with all delegates to make sure that all carbon emissions from journey to the convention are offset.
Why cannot or not it’s a digital convention?
It could be inequitable, stated Eddy Pérez, worldwide local weather diplomacy director at advocacy group Climate Action Network Canada.
“This meeting is for global representation. And when it comes to global representation, for those who are, are 12,13,14 hours away — where the time zones are completely different, it’s inequitable to force them to align to our time zones,” he stated.
Segal agrees, saying it is necessary for delegations from the nations most weak to the local weather disaster to have the ability to meet in particular person as equals.
“What’s really important here is for everyone to come together, for all of those voices to be invited to the same table so that people are held accountable for the promises that they made, people have their ears open to those who are at the front lines of the climate crisis,” she stated.
