COP26 Climate Conference and its Importance

In Context

• The UK is going to host the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference from October 31 to November 12.
  • The year 2021 marks the 26th Conference of Parties and will be held in the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow.

Formation of COP

• About:
  • The Conference of Parties comes under the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC) which was formed in 1994. 
  • The UNFCCC was established to work towards “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.”
  • The UNFCCC has 198 parties including India, China and the USA. COP members have been meeting every year since 1995.
• List of responsibilities for the member states:

• Formulating measures to mitigate climate change
• Cooperating in preparing for adaptation to the impact of climate change
• Promoting education, training and public awareness related to climate change

COP1 to COP25: An overview

• COP1
  • The first conference was held in 1995 in Berlin.
• COP3
  • Held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, wherein the famous Kyoto Protocol (w.e.f. 2005) was adopted. 
    • Under this, member states pursue limitation or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
• COP8
  • India hosted the eighth COP in 2002 in New Delhi.
    • It laid out measures including, ‘strengthening of technology transfer in all relevant sectors, including energy, transport and R&D,  and the strengthening of institutions for sustainable development
• COP21
  • It happened in 2015, in Paris, France. 
    • Member countries agreed to work together to ‘limit global warming to well below 2, preferably at 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.’

Significance

• It is a pivotal movement for the world to come together and accelerate the climate action plan after the COVID pandemic.

Four goals of COP26

• Secure global net-zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach.
• Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats.
• Mobilise finance: 
  • To deliver on our first two goals, developed countries must make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year
• ‘Finalise the Paris Rulebook’:
  • Leaders will work together to frame a list of detailed rules that will help fulfil the Paris Agreement.

Steps India should take to reach its targets

• Sector Wise effective planning:
  • We need to decarbonise the electricity, transport sector and start looking at carbon per passenger mile.
• Update NDCs: 
  • It is time for India to update its Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs. (NDCs detail the various efforts taken by each country to reduce the national emissions)
• Focus on sustainable energy sources:
  • Transitioning our coal sector to renewable and sustainable energy sources.
• Robust legal framework:
  • India also needs to amp up the legal and institutional framework of climate change.

Source:IE