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Information Booklet (view source)
Revision as of 16:57, 28 September 2021
, 16:57, 28 September 2021→International negotiations
'''''World leaders will meet in Glasgow later this year to talk about climate change, and in China to talk about the ecological crisis. In this section we learn about what the goals of these negotiations are, and how they are being met so far.'''''
'''''World leaders will meet in Glasgow later this year to talk about climate change, and in China to talk about the ecological crisis. In this section we learn about what the goals of these negotiations are, and how they are being met so far.'''''
=== A) What have climate negotiations achieved so far? ===
=== A) What have climate negotiations achieved so far? ===
Scientists have been predicting human-induced climate change for decades. '''The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change''' (UNFCCC) was signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and '''Conferences of the Parties''' (COP) have been held every year since 1995. The purpose of the conferences is to discuss what to do about climate change, and to propose the measures to be taken by participating states to address climate change<ref>[https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop UN https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop]</ref>.
Scientists have been predicting human-induced climate change for decades. '''The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change''' (UNFCCC) was signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and '''Conferences of the Parties''' (COP) have been held every year since 1995. The purpose of the conferences is to discuss what to do about climate change, and to propose the measures to be taken by participating states to address climate change<ref>[https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop UN https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop]</ref>.
The early retirement or repurposing of energy infrastructure is necessary to meet Paris commitments. Many studies show that simply allowing existing fossil fuel facilities to run until their expected end of life would not keep emissions below both 1.5°C and 2°C<ref name=":10" />.
The early retirement or repurposing of energy infrastructure is necessary to meet Paris commitments. Many studies show that simply allowing existing fossil fuel facilities to run until their expected end of life would not keep emissions below both 1.5°C and 2°C<ref name=":10" />.
Increasing the supply of clean energy is important for achieving sustainable economic growth while limiting global warming. Clean energy will reduce poverty and indoor and outdoor air pollution and provide critical services such as communications, lighting and water pumping<ref name=":11" />.
Improving and increasing energy efficiency could reduce CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by 40 percent by 2040. This would require efficiency gains in transportation (for example, electric cars), in households (more efficient houses and appliances) and in industry. Households worldwide could also save more than $500 billion dollars per year in energy bills by increasing their energy efficiency (electricity, natural gas for heating and cooking and fuel for transportation)<ref name=":9" />.
=== '''<big>Conservation and restoration</big>''' ===
The issues of climate change, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, and air and water pollution are interconnected. A key challenge of the next decades will be to recognize the interconnected nature of these issues, and make sure that actions to address one do not have unintended consequences on the other. For example, the replacing of native vegetation with monoculture crops for supplying bioenergy<ref>[https://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34949/MPN_ESEN.pdf UNEP 2021, Making Peace with Nature], pg.107</ref>, or the destruction of ecosystems to build renewable energy infrastructure<ref>[https://theconversation.com/renewable-energy-can-save-the-natural-world-but-if-were-not-careful-it-will-also-hurt-it-145166 Renewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it]. The Conversation</ref>.
Large-scale reforestation with native vegetation simultaneously addresses the issues of biodiversity loss, land degradation, and air and water pollution.
Restoring ecosystems increases the capacity of forests, the ocean and soil to absorb carbon dioxide. Today, nature is only able to absorb around half of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, more or less equally split between land-based ecosystems and the ocean, with the remainder staying in the atmosphere and causing the Earth to warm<ref>[https://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34949/MPN_ESEN.pdf UNEP 2021, Making Peace with Nature, Executive Summary] section B, Sections 2.3.2 in main report, and figure 2.8</ref>.
Forests currently absorb less than a quarter of the carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industry<ref>Brack, Duncan, [https://www.un.org/esa/forests/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/UNFF14-BkgdStudy-SDG13-March2019.pdf Forests and Climate Change]</ref>, with the potential to store much more.
Agriculture is a big driver of biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning the food production system to using agricultural methods that work with nature is critical for restoring natural ecosystems and building the capacities of soil to sequester carbon. Sustainable agricultural methods help to eliminate hunger and malnutrition, and contribute to human health. Sustainable agriculture conserves and restores soils and ecosystems, improving local biodiversity, rather than degrading it<ref name=":4" />.
Small-scale farmers, particularly women farmers, are central to the challenge of achieving sustainable food security and need to be empowered through access to financing, education and training, and information and technology<ref name=":4" />.
=== <big>Global awareness</big> ===
Since the ''[https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC]'' from the IPCC in 2018 and the ''Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment'' in 2019, global awareness of the climate and ecological crisis has risen considerably.
In 2021, the UN published the results of the Peoples’ Climate Vote<ref name=":1" />. With 1.2 million respondents from across the world, it is the largest survey of public opinion on climate change ever conducted, giving an insight into public opinions on climate solutions like renewable energy and nature conservation. In many of the participating countries, it was the first time that large-scale polling of public opinion has ever been conducted on the topic of climate change.
The Peoples’ Climate Vote found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of people in 50 countries believe that climate change is a global emergency. This is important information for governments in the run up to the Glasgow COP26, as it shows that the majority of people believe that it is vital to act on climate change now.
The survey also found a high level of support across the world for the conservation of forests and land, the implementation of renewable energy, climate friendly farming techniques and investment in green business.
In countries with a high level of deforestation – Brazil, Indonesia and Argentina – there was a majority support for conserving forests and land. In countries where there are high carbon emissions from heating and electricity use – the US, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Japan, Poland and Russia – there was a majority support for renewable energy.
The results of the survey are significant as they show broad support for climate action across the world and amongst different age groups, education levels, nationalities and genders<ref>[https://www.undp.org/publications/peoples-climate-vote People’s’ Climate Vote Results]</ref>.
As well as putting pressure on governments to act on climate change and exercising their voting and civic rights, individuals can facilitate a global shift towards a low carbon future through individual action. When it comes to the role of individuals in reducing carbon emissions, people in some countries can have a higher impact in reducing emissions than others, based on their CO<sub>2</sub> emissions per person. Individuals in these countries can facilitate a global shift towards a low carbon future through changing their diets (for example eating less, or no, meat) and travel habits (for example flying or driving less), avoiding waste of food and resources, and reducing their consumption of water and energy. These actions can also help protect and conserve biodiversity. People can also promote behavioural change by raising awareness in their communities<ref>[http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org/en/CO2-emissions Global Carbon Atlas, CO2 emissions per person (2017)]</ref>.
Countries where people can have the highest impact in reducing emissions, ordered by their CO<sub>2</sub> emission per person, are Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Brunei Darussalam, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the US, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Canada, Estonia, Palau, Oman, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Iceland, Czechia, Bermuda, Mongolia, Germany, Netherlands and Japan.
Impact from individual actions to reduce emissions will be also high in Belgium, Poland, Norway, Libya, Ireland, Finland, Iran, Malaysia, South Africa, Niue, Austria, Israel, New Zealand, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, China, Bulgaria, Greece, Andorra, Slovakia, Bahamas, Belarus, Seychelles, Cyprus, Spain, Denmark, Italy, the UK, Turkey, Antigua and Barbuda, France, Portugal, Equatorial Guinea, Hungary, Serbia and Iraq<ref name=":9" />.
== Distribution and fairness ==
Some countries started emitting a significant amount of CO<sub>2</sub> centuries ago; others only started relatively recently. The reason global annual emissions are now rising is because of the rapid growth of emerging economies, especially in Asia, the Middle East and in Central and South America. Almost all growth in emissions this century will come from developing countries<ref>[https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34438/EGR20ESE.pdf?sequence=25 UN Emissions Gap Report 2020]</ref>.
Rich countries such as the US and the EU member states have outsourced the more carbon-intensive parts of their production chain to countries such as China and India. For example, a large percentage of electronic goods that are used all over the world are made in China. This merely displaces emissions to these countries, rather than reducing them<ref name=":10" />.
The difference in impact between those most responsible for causing climate change and those most vulnerable to its impacts are difficult to comprehend. The wealthiest 1 percent of the world’s population are responsible for twice the emissions of the poorest half<ref name=":10" />.