Banner Image: West Point witnesses sea erosion every year. The DayLight/Harry Browne
By Emmanuel Sherman
Monrovia – In his address to the opening of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) ongoing climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland or COP26, President George Weah called on world leaders to address the global disparity in climate financing.
“There is an inherent imbalance in the current architecture of climate financing,” President Weah said. “Country like Liberia who maintains and protects the largest remaining tracks of forest reserves receives the lowest benefits for these ecosystem services.”
Parties reached a landmark agreement in December 2015 at the Paris Accord or COP21 to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve net-zero carbon scenario as well as reducing global warming. COP21 set the basis for COP26 in an effort to review their commitments, known as intended nationally determined contributions (NDC).
That was s the core of the Paris Accord. Now here are the four objectives of COP26 you need to know:
- Secure global net zero by mid- century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
Under this objective, the conference agrees to do the followings:
- Accelerate the phase out of coal
- Curtail deforestation
- Speed up the switch to electric vehicles
- Encourage investment in renewables
Countries are expected to come forward with ambitious 2030 emission targets that are aligned with meeting net zero by the middle of the century. They will now begin to review its climate agenda in order to reach out to those mitigation targets in areas including agriculture, forest, coastal zones, fisheries, health, transport, industries, energy and waste
- Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
This objective focuses on the protection and restoration of ecosystems, the building of national defenses, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid the loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives.
This is important because the climate indeed will continue to change even with the reduction of emissions, according to scientists. So, there must always be a way to adapt in an effort to protect vulnerable communities, which is imperative. Constructing defenses and warning systems to avoid the loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives are paramount. Under this objective, national governments will find the means and provide measures to ensure that they adapt to protect their people and natural habitats.
- Mobilize Finance
This objective, dubbed global finance, is specifically for developed nations, investors and insurers to agree on a collective position in making sure that resilience becomes the most significant principle to combat climate emergency, which, to a large extent, means working together.
Achieving this objective is to continue to sing the anthem which calls on the big and developed nations that emit more GHG to begin to see the emergency as another pandemic capable of destroying the only one planet we all share as poor and rich nations of the world.
International financial institutions, investors and insurers have committed to recognizing the pending threat of climate change and unleashing trillions in private and public sector finance required for climate financing.
- Working together to deliver
This objective calls on countries to finalize the Paris Rulebook (the detailed rules that make the Paris Agreement operational). It also calls for accelerated actions to tackle the climate crisis through collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society. COP26 emphasizes that working together in one accord is the most practical way to accelerate the needed actions.
