The United Kingdom is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, better known as ‘COP26’, in Glasgow bringing parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Since the adoption and entry into force of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, there hasn’t been significant action in living up to Parties’ commitment. Since the Paris Agreement was inked in 2015, there have subsequent global gatherings to thrash out how countries would live up to their commitment. This year’s event comes at a pivotal moment for the countries and companies hope to hit the gas on the transition to a fossil-fuel-free economy. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international agreement on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its prime goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. But the principal commitment under the Paris Agreement is to make a net zero carbon emissions and keeping global warming below 1.5ºC. This commitment concerns obviously the Parties to the Paris Agreement. However, one of the biggest challenges in meeting global warming below 1.5ºC is that China and the United States, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, haven’t done enough to address the climate crisis. These two powerhouse nations need to commit to deeper emissions cuts by far. Findings have in fact revealed that China’s emissions are more double those of the USA, but historically, the US has emitted more than any other country in the world. A crucial question: what more could be done to stave off the catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis? Though the adoption of the Paris Agreement was a watershed moment in the quest to address the climate crisis, it didn’t include details on how the world would achieve its goal. The subsequent COPs have sought to make the plans attached to it more ambitious and to detail courses of action. To stave off the planet, the Parties to the Paris Agreement should take concerted action such as keeping the goal of 1.5ºC, a target that requires to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels. On this, it has been realized that most of the oil-producing countries directly or indirectly resist the efforts towards achieving the goal of 1.5ºC. In other words, all countries need to commit to net zero. Net zero is reached when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away from the atmosphere. To achieve net zero, countries and companies will need to rely on natural methods, like forests, to remove the same amount of carbon they emit, or use technology known as carbon capture and storage, which involves removing the carbon at the source of emission before it can enter the atmosphere. The carbon would then be stored or buried underground. In a nutshell, the richer nations ought to take a leadership role in ending the use of coal, phasing out petrol-powered cars, and reversing deforestation. Another important provision under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit their pledges to cut emissions, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). All signatories were supposed to update their NDCs by July 31 this year, but around 70 have yet to do so. Just to stress, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of these long-term goals. NDCs embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Paris Agreement (Article 4, paragraph 2) requires each Party to prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it intends to achieve. Parties shall pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of such contributions. To sum up, the Parties are requested to submit the next round of NDCs (new NDCs or updated NDCs) by 2020 and every five years thereafter, regardless of their respective implementation time frames. What are the prayers of developing countries in COP26? Given that developing countries are the most vulnerable to the damage caused by climate change, such as floods, droughts and wildfires, they want richer and developed countries to: fulfil a pledge to provide $100bn each year in finance to help reduce emissions and adapt to climate change; agree to net-zero targets on greenhouse gases well before 2050, with specific targets for major emitters; and acknowledge the loss and damage they have experienced, such as the effects of rising sea levels or frequent flooding. It is expected that COP26 underway will, among other things, finalise the ‘Paris Rulebook’ or the rules needed to implement the Agreement. This time they will need to agree on common timeframes for the frequency of revision and monitoring of their climate commitments. According to scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scenario of 1.5°C warming, is the “only liveable future for humanity”. The writer is a law expert.
