26th Conference Of Parties (COP26) Summit in Glasgow, Scotland

26 Conference on parties( COP 26) of  United nations framework conference on Climate Change ( UNFCCC) was held in Glasgow, Scotland under presidentship  of United Kingdom on between October 31 and November 12, 2021. it aims to keep alive paris climate ageeement to limit  average temperature well below 2 degree Celsius  above from pre industrial level and efforts to limit 1.5 degree if possible.

 Theme    "The Build Back Better world ( B3W) " 

India's commitment at COP26

• Intended nationally determined contribution: Indian  Prime minister Sri Narendra Modi announced Five pledges an ambitious action to tackle climate change based on the principle of climate justice and equity. These are all:

1. To increase non-fossil energy capacity 500 GW by 2030
2. To meet 50 % energy requirements from renewable energy resources by 2030
3. To reduce total projected carbon emission by one billion tonne from now to 2030
4. To reduce carbon intensity of the economy by 45% till 2030 ( from the previous target of 35%)
5. To achieve net zero target by 2070.

• Requirements : the target will require financial investments and skilled workers for deployments of renewable energy.
• Infrastructure projects for small island countries : Indian prime minister Sri Narendra Modi announced climate resilient  infrastructure project from Scotland for small island countries
• ISRO will built a special data window for them to provide them timely information about cyclone, coral reef monitoring, coast line monitoring etc through  satellite.
• issue of small island countries :
•  Small Island Developing States ( SIDS)  are most vulnerable countries facing threat of Climate Change
• To save the life of them
• To protect the economy of them
• Climate change is major challenge for them 
• countries are mainly dependent on tourism, but due to natural calamities tourists are afraid to visit there
• SIDS are lived in harmony with nature and they know howto adapt to the natural cycles of the Nature
• Climate Finance : India called for 1 trillion for developing countries to developed countries.
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• Global Methane Pledge: The United states of America( US)  and European Union ( EU) jointly launched to cut Methane emission 30% from 2020 level and to end deforestation by 2030. Methane is more potent than carbon dioxide but live short time in atmosphere. Methane is 80% more potent than CO2. It is estimated to have accounted for  30%  Global warming since pre industrial times. it was first announced in September 2021.
• Global Methane Pledge is signed up to limit the Global Warming to 1.8 degree Celsius. 
• Nearly, 90 countries have signed the agreement including
• it includes top 30 emitters of the world, accounting two thirds of the global economy.
• Brazil is one of the fifth largest emitters of the world that signed agreement generates Methane from Cows' digestive system, Inland fill wastes, and in oil gas production.
• Note - India, china, Australia and Russia not singed the agreement. 

• To end Deforestation  by 2030 : Humanity boosted green house gas emission by cutting down forest that absorbs roughly 30% Carbon dioxide emission according to non profit world Resource Institutes (WRI).
• In 2020, the world lost 2,58,000 sq km of forest- an area larger than the United Kingdom.
• More than 100 country have pledge to cut the emission and reserve deforestation by the end of decade. 
• Global forest finance pledge Funds : counties agreed to avail $19.2 billion to invest  in  restore and protect the forest . 
• this fund will come from public and private funds. 
• under this agreement 12 countries pledged to provide $12 billion of public  funding between 2021 to 2025 for developing countries to restore  degraded land and tackle wild fire..
• rest $7.2 billion will come from private sector investors, who pledge to stop investing in activities linked to deforestation such as cattle, palm oil and soybean farming and pulp production.

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Net-Zero emission

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas production and the amount removed from the atmosphere. The concept of net zero emerged from the newly launched report of IPCC in August.

"Net zero for the later date is on the platter as an option".

• It entails reduction in the use of coal, oil and gas.
• And corresponding increased in Carbon Sequestration efforts such as Plantation.
• Target is 2050.

What is Carbon sequestration?

It is a technique of carbon storage for long time to reduce carbon pollution from atmosphere into the Earth and other Carbon Sinks. 

• Carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon are stored using  subsurface saline Aquifer, reservoirs, ocean water, aging oil fields, Plantation.

What are Carbon sinks ?

All biological resources that can absorb carbon as its own parts are referred as carbon sinks that takes Carbon from atmosphere and reduces its amount. For example, forests, trees, grasslands, oceans these all stores lots of carbon such as a tree stores carbon in its Stem, leaves. 

Background

IPCC 6th Report August 2021: has stated that extreme weather, climate action failure and human led environmental damage are going to be risks with the highest likelihood ( of occurrence) and impact in the coming decade. 

• If global warming is to be limited to +1.5 degree Celsius by 2100, then carbon space available requires global CO2 emissions to decline sharply and reach net zero by 2050.
• the developing countries will need additional $600 billion per year.
• The report informed that the global warming will pose a danger to each and every one.

COP15, 2009

Climate Finance 

• In 2009, at COP15, "the developed  world pledged to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries cut green house gas emission and cope with the climate crisis through finance from public, private, bilateral and multilateral sources" .  However no formal deal was made. Rich countries have so far failed to meet their 2009 promise to transfer %100 billion per year to poor countries by 2020.
• Future requirements: 
• there is experts recommendations to increase climate finance to raise to $5 trillions per year to poor countries by 2030 to meet the needs to take measures against climate change.
• IPCC Report suggested for additional $600 billion per year by 2030.

COP19, 2013 

Warsaw 

INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) 

India

• to reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 % of the 2005 levels by 2030;
• to adopt climate friendly and cleaner path;
• to achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance such as Green climate Fund;
•  to create additional carbon sinks of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
• India has recently announced to achieve 450 Giga Watt renewal energy generation by 2030, about 60% of installed capacity, well beyond the 40% target. 

 

 

 

 COP21 , 2015

Paris Agreement

• " To hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial level and on driving efforts to limit it even further 1.5 degree Celsius"
• Article 6 of Paris agreement talked about Carbon Credit 
• effort areas:
• Mitigation
• Adaptation
• Loss
• Damage
• Finance
• Technology Development and transfer
• Capacity building
• Transparency of action and support 

History of climate talks 

• The Stockholm UN conference on environment, 1972, began a new era of international Cooperation on environmental issues and paved the way of evolution of the concept of sustainable development and the creation of United Environment Programme ( UNEP).
• In 1979, the first international instrument on Climate- the Convention on long range transboundary Air Pollution - was adopted at the climate world conference in Geneva.
• The Vienna convention for the protection of ozone layer followed. 
• As the talks on global warming and depletion of the ozone layer intensified, UNEP and World meteorological organizations ( WMO) set up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC).
• The Panel makes a comprehensive assessment reports periodically about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of the climate crisis and potential response strategies. 
• After 20 years of Stockholm, in 1992, the UN convention the Earth Summit was held on Rio-Dejenario and 197 nations signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC), which has become the foundational international binding treaty on the Climate crisis. 
• In 1997,the Kyoto protocol, which became international law in 2005, sought to stabilize GHG concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with Climate system. 
• Recognizing the principles of "Polluters Pays" and "Common but differentiated responsibilities" and respective capabilities of countries, the protocol stablished the difference between developed and developing countries in their contributions to emissions and set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European Union for reducing GHG emissions to an average of 5% against 1990 levels over five years ( 2008- 2012). China and India were exempted from the requirement of the protocol as they were not major polluters and The USA did not ratify it.
• The protocol triggered the mechanism of creation such as emission trading, green development and joint implementation aimed at facilitating the achievement of emission targets and adoption fund to finance concrete adaption projects in developing countries. 
• On the conclusion of first commitment period ( 2008- 2012), a second commitment period was agreed to in 2012 to extend the agreement to 2020 in the Doha Amendment. The Doha amendment strengthened quantified emission limitation commitments for developed countries and economies in transition and set the goal of reducing GHG emissions to 18% of 1990 levels, compared to 5% in the first commitment period. 
• The Paris Agreement on Climate change came in to force in 2016 and improved upon and replaced the Kyoto Protocol. The core objective 8s strengthening the global response to the threat of climate crisis keeping the rise of global warming this century well below 2degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the rise to 1.5. The agreement also aims at enhancing the ability of countries to deal with the impact of the climate crisis and at making the flow of finance consistent with a low GHG emission pathway. The nationally determined contribution ( NDCs) of countries are at the heart of the Agreement. 

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