The climate summit will be held between October 31 and November 12, and it is expected to start commitments in greenhouse gas emissions to limit the thermal rise.
From this October 31 until November 12 it is celebrated in the Scottish city of Glasgow la COP26, the international climate summit whose main objective will be to reduce greenhouse emissions so that the temperature does not rise more than 1.5 degrees by 2050.
Known as climate summits, the COPs or Conferences of the Parties, constitute the highest level political forum to face the climate crisis.
COP26 President-designate Alok Sharma has explained that “the main objective of COP26 is”limit thermal rise to 1.5 degrees“And, for this,” scientific data indicate that we will have to produce less carbon than we remove from the atmosphere “, something known as”net zero“, for the second half of the century.
It is estimated that to meet the objectives, developed countries will have to collect at least $ 100 billion in climate finance every year
Why 1.5 degrees?
With 2 degrees of global warming, the impact on people and nature would be widespread and serious. Almost all warm-water coral reefs would disappear and Arctic sea ice would completely melt at least one summer every decade, with a devastating impact on wildlife and the communities that depend on it due to rising sea levels. .
On the other hand, if the ascent were limited to 1.5 degrees, the impact would be serious, but less severe. There would be less risk of food and water shortages and endangered species would be reduced.
The threat to human health from air pollution, disease, malnutrition and exposure to extreme heat would also be less.
Absences
Although the majority of countries will have representation of the highest rank at the conference, some absences are noteworthy.
This Wednesday the Kremlin reported that the president of RussiaVladimir Putin will not attend COP26, nor will he attend the G20 summit scheduled for the end of the month in Rome, but will intervene in both events electronically.
The same happens with the most populated country in the world, and the most polluting by far: China, whose president Xi Jinping has already confirmed that he will not travel and that his special envoy, Xie Zenhua, will do so in his place, although he has also announced that he will participate with a videoconference.
It is not yet known what will happen to the IndiaIt is especially populated – Chinese and Indians make up about a third of the world’s population today – and with significant environmental problems, because its prime minister, Narendra Modi, has not yet confirmed whether he will move to the Scottish city.
Other notable absences already confirmed are those of the president Iranian Ebrahim Raisi, el Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro, he Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador or the South African Cyril Ramaphosa.
Although perhaps the greatest expectations have been generated by US President Joe Biden, who will attend, and who embraced environmentalism as one of his main political banners when taking office, announcing that he would officially return the United States to the Paris Agreement, from the which was released by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Paris Agreement
This COP26 comes 6 years after COP21 in which the Paris Agreement was signed. Scientists admit that it is a “bittersweet” agreement, because although “it was possible to sign the objective of not exceeding a thermal rise of 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels”, the agreement “was not binding and did not contemplate legal repercussions. for countries that did not fulfill their promises “, laments the CSIC researcher Fernando Valladares.
In addition, the most polluting economy, China, “put itself in profile at COP25 in Madrid” and will not be in Glasgow either, an absence that “expresses how a priority climate change is for its leaders.”
Despite this, the scientist explains that “China currently has a verifiable and realistic neutrality calendar for 2060” and although “it wants to make the transition to cleaner energies”, in parallel “it has invested significant sums in coal”, something that it will pay off in the coming years with a large emissions footprint. “
Campaign #EKIN_klima.
Euskadi will defend the role of the regions
The Basque Government will participate in the United Nations World Conference, where it will defend the role of institutions and regions in climate action.
The Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Executive of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Arantxa Tapia, will be in Glasgow from November 4 to 8, where she will participate in various events on industry, energy and biodiversity.
The Basque Government recalled this Friday that COP 26 is emerging as the most important event since the Paris Summit in 2015 and will involve the “review of the progress made by the countries”, five years after that agreement.
Now it is expected “to set new, more ambitious goals to stop global warming, not only in terms of reducing emissions, but also in adapting and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change.”
Sánchez, first to intervene
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, will be the first leader who, after the official inauguration, speaks before the plenary of the climate summit.
Sánchez, according to Moncloa sources, will make a wake-up call at the summit to take the fight against climate change seriously because he will highlight that the experts’ reports show that not everything is being done as it should.
In the same way, it will emphasize the need that, together with public financing to undertake this fight, the presence of private actors is necessary as well as social support.
EITB tracking
Within the framework of the #EKIN_klima campaign launched by EITB on the occasion of the climate emergency and the COP26 world summit, this Saturday Hodei Arrausi begins his trip to Glasgow, under the slogan ‘0 emissions’.
Arrausi will make a daily chronicle of the journey in the ETB news, and also in programs, radio and on the web. On this map you can follow the route day by day.
eitb.eus hosts the special website eitb.eus/klima, where all the content related to the campaign is collected #EKIN_clima and information on the Glasgow COP26 summit.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
