All you need to know about the COP26 Climate Summit
120 world leaders gathered at Glasgow to kick start a decade of accelerated climate action- COP26 Climate Summit. They were joined by civil society, international organizations, businesses and youth to mark the start of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties. They agreed that climate change is a global problem. The world is warming because of emissions from fossil fuels used by humans, like coal, oil and gas. Extreme weather events linked to climate change such as heatwaves, floods and forest fires are intensifying. The past decade has been the warmest on record and change needs to happen rapidly. Now that the world is healing from the pandemic-induced wounds, the theme for this year’s Science Day targets the bigger evil that awaits us, Climate Change. We are stepping into a new era of economic and political partnership with climate action at its heart.
The task will be to deliver the finance, resources and tools to make climate action a reality. The expectation is to accelerate climate action by 2030. A number of pledges have already been made, which could change our everyday lives!
Goals for the COP26 Climate Summit
Following a year of devastating natural disasters, COP26 will be key to advancing new commitments to limit climate change.
The four main goals that can help achieve this target are:
Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach:
Countries will come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century. To make this happen they will need to phase-out coal, reduce deforestation, start switching to electric vehicles and encourage investing in renewables.
Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats:
The climate is changing and will continue to do so even with our efforts. We need to enable countries affected by climate change to protect existing ecosystems and restore the damaged ones. We also need to build warning systems, resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives. Protection of communities is vital.
Mobilize finance:
In order to deliver on the above two goals, finance is important. Developed countries are to mobilize climate finance each year and international financial institutions must work towards unleashing the trillions in private and public sector finance that is required to secure global net zero.
Work together, be united to deliver:
Goals are written and spoken about but to turn them into action we need to work together to deliver. Through collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society we can make all the goals of the COP26 Climate Summit a reality.
What more can we do?
As netizens, conscious people who care about social causes, we have the power of our voices. We have the power of art, culture and community to bring about meaningful conversations that drive change. Check out Blogchatter’s marquee track CauseAChatter Environmental Talks where we have been curating content around the environment and more. If it is something that inspires you, sign up and become a champion with several others in our community.
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