The most dangerous stumbling blocks on the road to COP26 are political, not technical
UN delegates concluded a meeting which was conducted for almost three weeks virtually meant to discuss climate change in a low key as they made less progress. The meeting was supposed to calm the decks prior to the major COP26 gathering which is to take place in November this year.
Climate change has become a major cause of concern for countries across the globe. Only recently a record 18-degree Celsius temperature was recorded in the Antarctic region which shows a record increase in global warming which can fuel drastic climate change.
Ministers and delegates from 40 different countries will meet this month to push the process forward. Developing nations have growing concerns that a lack of vaccines may limit their ability to take part in the Glasgow conference as the covid pandemic rages on.
The UK will be trying its best to provide the jabs to these countries prior to the meeting this month so that the countries can take part in them. Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, this was the first virtual gathering of UN negotiators since December 2019, when COP25 ended in Madrid.
The last meeting(virtual) has failed to find a way forward on a number of concerns which included the role of carbon markets in curbing climate change. Despite the extension in the session that ran for almost three weeks of talks, such important issues were not resolved yet. The challenges of delegates being in differing time zones poor internet connections and other issues made these difficult negotiations a real struggle.
“I think this was technically challenging for many parties, connectivity problems compounded and complicated the trust deficits that exist,” said Quamrul Chowdhury, a climate negotiator from Bangladesh.
“The most dangerous stumbling blocks on the road to COP26 are political, not technical,” said Jennifer Tollmann, a senior policy advisor at environmental think-tank E3G.
“Parties know each other’s positions, it’s the will to find compromise options that drive ambition is frequently missing,” she said.
These challenges just mean there is going to be a strong appetite among delegates for face-to-face talks in Glasgow. However, the threat posed by Covid-19, especially in developing countries is a key issue of concern for many.
“Covid-19 remains a serious concern for many of us, and travel restrictions continue for many countries,” said Ambassador Diann Black-Layne of Antigua and Barbuda, who is a lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States.
“A significant portion of our membership face onerous travel restrictions regardless of their personal vaccination status. Some islands in the Pacific have just two flights per month, with one month of quarantine, while other islands still have closed borders. This will not change unless their entire populations have vaccine access.”
The developed countries that have offered funds worth 100 billion USD to the developing countries are yet to come to a total, to battle against climate change.
Article credit: bbc.com
Image credit: blogs.un.org
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