There are only a few days left until the world climate conference. Great hopes rest on the meeting of decision-makers. The pressure to act is increasing – but skepticism is also growing.
The British host of the world climate conference COP26 considers the struggle in Glasgow for tougher climate measures to be more difficult than the agreement on the Paris climate agreement.
“What we want to create in Glasgow is really difficult,” said COP President-elect, Alok Sharma, the Guardian (Saturday). “It’s brilliant what was done in Paris, it was a framework agreement, but many of the details were left open.”
In Paris in 2015, more than 190 countries agreed on the goal of limiting global warming to well below two degrees, if possible to 1.5 degrees, compared to the pre-industrial era. To this end, all countries should draw up action plans. In Glasgow, around 200 states want to consult for two weeks from Sunday. “It’s definitely more difficult than Paris on many levels,” said Sharma. “It’s like having come to the end of the most difficult questions in an exam, and at the same time you hardly have any time.” The plans will be measured against the 1.5 degree target. According to a UN report, the world is heading for 2.7 degrees global warming with the current plans.
Before the climate conference, climate protection activists from poorer regions of the world demanded that rich countries like Germany take a more determined approach to the climate crisis. You would have to drastically reduce your CO2 emissions and provide more money to combat the consequences of climate change in poorer countries, said activists from Fridays for Future from Kenya, Mexico and the Philippines of the German press agency. The promised $ 100 billion for climate protection and adaptation to climate change in poorer countries was not enough and would not even be made available, complained Mitzi Jonelle Tan from the Philippines.
Thunberg: “Facing an existential crisis”
“Change comes when people demand change,” said the most prominent Fridays for Future representative Greta Thunberg in an interview with the BBC over the weekend. “So we can’t expect everything to happen at these conferences.” The 18-year-old Swede will travel to Glasgow with other activists. “It would be a success if people finally begin to understand the urgency of the situation and really realize that we are facing an existential crisis,” said Thunberg.
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, called on Germany to take a more active role in climate protection in Asia, Africa and Latin America. “It’s not just about financial aid, but also about diplomacy,” said Birol of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” (FAS). In addition, the coming federal government must expand renewable energies more quickly and shut down coal-fired power plants more quickly. “If you appeal to emerging countries to stop using coal-based electricity, then Germany should also officially confirm that it will phase out before 2038.”
The world’s leading oil exporter Saudi Arabia promised to become climate neutral by 2060. The CO2 emissions should be reduced annually by 278 million tons by 2030, said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Saturday. For investments related to the climate, the equivalent of 160 billion euros are planned. The desert state wants to plant ten billion trees in the next 20 years. As a first step, 450 million trees would be planted in the kingdom as part of the Saudi Green Initiative, said Crown Prince Mohammed.
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