The 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) will take place in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November this year. This sounds like something that will only interest climate geeks and policy wonks! But please do not just move on, because this is important for all of us!
Climate breakdown is the most serious environmental issue we currently face. Some people consider it to be the most serious issue facing humankind, not just the most serious environmental issue.
Many of us have taken action to deal with the causes and consequences of climate breakdown. We have, for example, reduced the number of times we fly, avoided unnecessary travel, or changed the way we heat our homes. Businesses and governments have also taken action. An action taken by many governments has been to attend annual “Conferences of the Parties” or COPs and we’re about to see what happens at the 26th of these major conferences.
But despite 25 previous conferences at which pledges and promises have been made by governments from across the world, the action we have all taken has not been enough. We have not reduced our emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases by the amounts needed to avoid serious consequences, in fact, emissions have continued to rise. Up to now, we thought the consequences of climate breakdown would affect our children and their children but it has now become clear that we are already experiencing the effects.
We see these effects in extreme weather events.
Abnormal periods of hot, dry weather lead to drought and in some cases food shortages and in others, wildfires. Heavy rain and windstorms lead to structural damage to buildings and to flooding, which can also damage food crops. Storm surges at sea lead to flooding of low-lying areas and coastal towns and cities. At higher latitudes and altitudes, hotter temperatures are leading to melting of ice caps and glaciers which also contribute to rising sea levels. And hotter temperatures are also affecting the most vulnerable among us – our children, those coping with poverty and infirmity, women and girls and the older members of society.
Against this background, the UK is hosting the latest in this series of COPs. COP 26 was originally scheduled for the end of 2020 but the Covid 19 global pandemic forced its postponement. So, COP 26 is taking place in Glasgow between 31st October and 12th November this year.
COP26 is going to be a very big event. Massive amounts of energy have been put into it over the last twelve months and much more will be expended in the next thirty days. In future posts, we will consider some more of the background and explore why this conference is such a big deal for all of us, not just the climate geeks!