The International Climate Conference COP26 has finally started
The historic climate conference (UN Climate Change Conference -COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, has begun with a demand to prevent a global disaster. The summit, which opened on Sunday, drew representatives from more than 200 countries.
There they will discuss the international community’s role in protecting the Planet and how to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
The success of this summit will determine the future security of our globe from disasters. Climate activists are rallying around the conference, demanding world leaders to take decisive action to safeguard this Planet from the destructive effects of climate change. Developed, developing, and least developed countries, on the other hand, have distinct goals.
Abdullah Shahid, the Foreign Minister of Maldives and the President of the UN General Assembly, will address the first day of the conference. The low-lying islands of the Maldives are under extreme threat due to rising sea levels due to climate change.
Experts have warned that if the scenario continues, the Maldives will erase from the world map. Foreign minister Abdullah Shahid will raise the topic as a way to resolve the crisis.
Developing countries are most at risk for the damage caused by climate change, such as floods, droughts, and wildfires. However, the per capita carbon emissions of these countries are much lower than the developed countries.
They are the ones who are suffering the most as a result of climate change. As a result, it is essential to solve the needs of the less wealthy and smaller countries at the climate conference in Glasgow.
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, estimates the chances of the UN COP-26 climate conference succeeding are 6 out of 10. The conference aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050.
Prime Minister Boris warned that global civilization would collapse rapidly if world leaders failed to take appropriate action to tackle the climate crisis.
In such a scenario, it remains to see how influential the world leaders will be at this conference in anticipating the future.
The extent to which the global climate goal will achieve depends mainly on the performance of the world’s largest carbon emitter countries. Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, has already announced that he will achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
However, it is ten years behind the target set by scientists. The country has also announced to stop using coal by 2026. China is sending an environmental minister to the conference, which seems like a significant obstacle to any major announcement.
The United States is second only to China in carbon emissions. After Donald Trump’s administration, the United States returned to the climate conference in 2021.
In addition to returning to the Paris Agreement, US president Joe Biden has announced a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 2005.
However, diplomats and NGOs see the lack of a specific policy as a notable obstacle to putting pressure on countries like China, India, and Brazil at the Glasgow conference.
