The Leaders’ Summit on Climate ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is a welcome move by the US President Joe Biden. It is heartening to witness the historic largest carbon-polluter coming back to the climate rescue. President Biden seem to have a clear intention and interest to take climate action. On the very first day of joining the office the president announced the move to make United States return to the Paris Agreement. Subsequently, 40 world leaders were invited to the Leaders’ Summit on Climate to galvanize the efforts by the world’s major economies to tackle the climate crisis. The invitation to the summit urged global leaders to use the summit as an opportunity to showcase their commitments towards stronger climate ambition and action.
The key themes of the summit were to channelize the efforts of the world’s major economies to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius and assist the vulnerable countries to mitigate and adapt the climate impacts. At the summit, the US submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the 2015 Paris Agreement which is to reduce 50-52 per cent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach to the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Similar ambitious commitments were made by Japan, Canada, European Union and United Kingdom among a host of other countries.
But despite of having such ambitious pledges and commitments, we are falling short of a 1.5˚C-compatible 2030 target as reported by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). A two-day virtual meeting of world’s leaders was never going to channelize the kind of rapid response required for serious climate action. However, with the unionization of world’s top political figureheads, the climate change issue is certainly back on the agenda. The real need now is to transform the commitments to ground with real time monitoring and feedback mechanism.
The world’s topmost leaders should also be concerned about those impacted the hardest and with very little capacity to cope with the serious impacts of climate change. Several studies have identified South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa as two of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. Unfortunately these are the same regions with lower economic capacities, poor standards of living and higher dependence on natural resources. With just 3.5% of the global emissions share, south Asia faces the brunt of the climate impacts.
The poorer south nations are far less materially and economically developed than the North nations. The developed nations have attained economic levels by extensive use of fossil fuels and materialistic advancement. It is unfortunate that the historically low carbon emitters are hit hardest by the impacts of climate change. This also raises the question of Climate Justice and Common but Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capacities (CBDR & RC) which was not given an adequate attention during the leaders’ summit. Though the south nations must play their active role in reducing the emissions, but the north nations must take responsibility to help and support the vulnerable countries.
The scientists have warned the urgency to limit the global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to limit the adverse impacts of climate change. We have already crossed the rise in global temperature by 1.2°C mark. At the current global GHG emission growth rate, the world will likely warm by 2°C in a matter of few decades, the aftereffects of which are most likely to be irreversible and unlivable. IPCC has also warned that we have just a short decade till 2030 to reduce the global emissions by 50% if we are to avert the disastrous effects of climate change.
There is a dire need to invest in nature and take some serious legally binding actions like phasing out coal, promoting renewables, afforestation targets, sustainable investments etc. The global financial institutions should be mandated to invest at least 50% in promoting climate action. A strict global tax system should be made in place to penalize the carbon, energy and water intensive projects with unsustainable products and practices. The projects like mining and overexploitation in ecologically sensitive areas should be totally banned. A proactive landscape scale planning is a must while decision making. The funds like Green Climate Fund and Climate Adaptation Fund should be made sizable to the extent of the problem. The developed countries should take ownership to help their developing counterparts in financing and technological transfer.
Advancing on climate with strong policy and commitments should not be looked upon as a liability or bourdon. There is a hidden long term incentive by aligning the policies and practices for creating a better, equitable and just world. The enhanced climate action will help create green jobs, advance innovative technologies, promote sustainable livelihoods and achieve inclusive development.
Climate Change is certainly real and almost visible. It is already staring hard at our doorsteps. The point in time is the most crucial and decisive moments in the lifetime of only inhabitable planet. It’s a make or break time for the world. At such a crucial juncture, let us hope that the Leaders’ Summit on Climate is a stepping stone to decisive climate action.
References:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/26/president-biden-invites-40-world-leaders-to-leaders-summit-on-climate/
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/biden-s-climate-summit-major-polluters-ramp-up-climate-ambition-76680
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/earth-day-2021-joe-biden-to-host-earth-day-climate-summit-how-to-watch-it-online-who-is-attending-9551811.html
https://yubanet.com/world/civil-society-reactions-to-leaders-climate-summit/
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/biden-s-climate-leadership-summit-what-should-3-pms-from-south-asia-do-76619
