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COP 26 Opens in Glasgow
01 Nov 2021 at 14:17hrs | Views
The 26th meeting of the Conference of Parties (Cop26) has opened in Glasgow, Scotland with delegates deliberating on the Paris agreement and the Kyoto Protocol to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Glasgow gathering, which runs until the 12th of November, comes as an accelerated onslaught on extreme weather conditions owing to 150 years of burning fossil fuels.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in Glasgow early this morning, where he will join more than 120 heads of state and government that have made the trip to Scotland for the United Nations meeting.
The world leaders include US President Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron, India's Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison of Australia.
Officially opening the meeting in Glasgow this Sunday, President of the Summit, Alok Sharma said COP26 climate negotiations are the last and best hope to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C alive.
"And we know that this COP, COP26, is our last best hope to keep 1.5 (degrees Celsius) in reach. Now, I know that we have an unprecedented negotiating agenda ahead of us, but I believe that this international system can deliver," said COP26 president Alok Sharma.
He added: "It must deliver. I believe that we can resolve the outstanding issues, we can move the negotiations forward, and we can launch a decade of ever-increasing ambition and action."
COP26 inherits its central goal from the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, which saw countries agreeing to cap global warming at "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels, and 1.5C if possible.
Since the 2015 deal, a lot of issues are yet to be worked out, while emission reduction remains woefully insufficient to avert global warming.
Experts warn that only transformative action in the next ten years will help stave off far more cataclysmic impacts.
The Glasgow gathering, which runs until the 12th of November, comes as an accelerated onslaught on extreme weather conditions owing to 150 years of burning fossil fuels.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in Glasgow early this morning, where he will join more than 120 heads of state and government that have made the trip to Scotland for the United Nations meeting.
The world leaders include US President Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron, India's Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison of Australia.
Officially opening the meeting in Glasgow this Sunday, President of the Summit, Alok Sharma said COP26 climate negotiations are the last and best hope to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C alive.
"And we know that this COP, COP26, is our last best hope to keep 1.5 (degrees Celsius) in reach. Now, I know that we have an unprecedented negotiating agenda ahead of us, but I believe that this international system can deliver," said COP26 president Alok Sharma.
He added: "It must deliver. I believe that we can resolve the outstanding issues, we can move the negotiations forward, and we can launch a decade of ever-increasing ambition and action."
COP26 inherits its central goal from the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, which saw countries agreeing to cap global warming at "well below" 2C above pre-industrial levels, and 1.5C if possible.
Since the 2015 deal, a lot of issues are yet to be worked out, while emission reduction remains woefully insufficient to avert global warming.
Experts warn that only transformative action in the next ten years will help stave off far more cataclysmic impacts.
Source - zbc
