World Leaders Gather in Scotland for COP26 🌱

Photo Credit: Dan Meyers (Unsplash)

From October 31 - November 12, the UK, in partnership with Italy, will host the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Leaders from around the world are convening to discuss the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. What do politicians and sponsoring corporations hope to accomplish?

Goal I: Reduce Emissions.
The first goal is to "secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach." To meet this goal, governments will need to create aggressive strategies to reduce emissions by 2030. To accomplish this, countries will need to expedite plans to phase out of coal use, end deforestation, move toward using electric vehicles, and invest in renewable energy. This is particularly important for countries like the U.S. and China that produce 38% of the world's total global emissions. 

Goal II: Adapt and Protect.
COP26 participants are supposed to "adapt to protect communities and natural habitats." It is important for us to remember that low wealth communities most severely affected by extreme weather events are often already battling generations of harmful impacts. For example, Madagascar has experienced four years of drought. More than one million people are food insecure, with hundreds of thousands on the brink of starvation. Lola Castro from the World Food Programme told the Washington Post, “the big thing is there’s no conflict, but people are dying of hunger." Check out the July article, "Madagascar is headed toward a climate change-linked famine it did not create."

Goal III: Fund Progress.
The first two goals will require significant financing, especially from countries in a position to contribute. Developed countries are expected to"make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020."This is not just on the shoulders of the public sector. The UN expects financial institutions and the private sector to fund programs to achieve global net zero.

Goal IV: Work Together.
At the summit, leaders will finalize theParis Rulebook, which guides how countries implement theParis Agreement. In 2015, 196 parties at the COP21 conference in Paris, France adopted a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It became known as the Paris Agreement and it took effect on November 4, 2016. By cementing the Paris Rulebook, governments will be able to enhance global collaboration between governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations.

Highlight environmental defenders. Activists are targeted and sometimes killed because of their work. As we talk about mitigating climate change, we must push our governments to protect activists. Here are examples you can highlight on social media with #COP26 and #DefendTheDefenders.

Colombia: In "Who is Killing Colombian Environmentalists?," Girl Friday covered stories about Colombian activists who are killed for standing up to illegal miners and other criminal enterprises. Right now, Colombia is the most dangerous place to be an environmental activist.

Mexico: Multiple Mexican activists protecting a butterfly reserve have been murdered. Those activists, like Adán Vez Lira, opposed criminal operations engaging in illegal logging ventures.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Park rangers guarding endangered wildlife are regularly threatened. In April's "Protecting Africa's Park Rangers," Girl Friday noted that 20 Virunga Park Rangers had been killed this past year. Since then, the number has increased. On October 15, Ranger Emery was shot and killed by unidentified armed men in the park.

South Africa: Last October, South African environmental activist Fikile Ntshangase was killed in her home. She had been involved in a disagreement over the extension of a coal mine near Africa's oldest nature reserve. People living near the mine reportedly faced intimidation if they refused to relocate. Fikile Ntshangase's lawyer described her as courageous and said that Ntshangase told her, “I cannot sell out my people and if need be I will die for my people.”