Mixed reactions to United Nation COP26 Climate Change Glasgow Agreement

BY PAUL JUNOR

There was drama at the end of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which concluded on Saturday, November 13^th, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. For over two weeks 200 countries have been meeting to hammer out a climate change deal. It was the 26^th meeting of the UN’s Conferences of the Parties. The first one was in 1995 in Berlin.

There was a deal agreed upon by these countries on Friday, November 12^th, 2021, which would have seen the use of coal being “phased out. This would have been an historic development if China and India, two of the world’s largest users of coal, had not pressured the other countries to change the language to “phased out.” This last-ditch change to the agreed upon climate change deal provided vitriolic and acrimonious responses from many countries.

Alok Sharma who was appointed President for COP26 hosted it. As early as 1989, the Montreal Protocol drew attention to the importance of reducing the “production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances in order to protect Earth’s ozone layer.” Historically, it was the Kyoto protocol, which was agreed to in 1997 in Japan that “committed major industrial nations to reducing their annual carbon emissions to below 1990s levels, while producing financial support to developing nations to encourage them to follow suit.”

Canada ratified it in 2002 but withdrew from it in 2011. It was, however, the Paris Agreement in 2015 that highlighted the importance of limiting earth’s warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. On Monday, November 8^th, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would end thermal coal export by 2030. This hopefully will force developing countries to seek alternatives to fuel and significantly decrease pollution in the oil and gas sector. He committed to:

• Increasing carbon pricing to cover a greater percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, from the current $40 per tonne to $170 per tonne by 2030
• Net zero emissions from electricity generated in Canada by 2035
• Capping and reducing pollution from the oil and gas sector to net zero by 2050
• Protecting 25% of Canada’s land and oceans by 2025
• Planting 2 billion trees, ending and reversing deforestation globally and helping developing countries do the same

Canada will increase its contributions to $5.3 billion toward climate finance and $57.5 million towards developing countries. Trudeau states, “Climate action can’t wait. Since 2015, Canada has been a committed partner in the fight against climate change, and as we move to a net-zero future we will continue to do our part to cut pollution and build a cleaner future for everyone.”

President Biden told the delegates that he is hopeful that the U.S. will attain a “Net-zero emissions economy.” There were many calls from the leaders of island nations for economic support as many of their economies are directly impacted by climate change. The Washington Post reported on November 13^th that Alok Sharma stated, “We’re all well aware that collectively, our climate ambition and action to date have fallen short of the promises made in Paris.” Simon Lewin and Mark Maslin identified five things about the Glasgow Pact that you need to know in an online article for The Conversation, which are:

1. Progress on cutting emissions, but nowhere near enough
2. The door is ajar for further cuts in the near future
3. Rich countries continued to ignore their historical responsibility
4. Loopholes in carbon market rules could undermine progress
5. Thank climate activists for the progress – their next moves will be decisive

There is hope that there will be great gains made as nations continue to search for solutions to the challenges of climate change in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.