The COP-26 World Conference on Climate Change, to be held from October 31 to November 12, has caught everyone's attention. The UK is chairing the conference in Scotland. The conference is being attended by more than 25,000 people from around the world, including heads of state and government, top government officials, civil society leaders, and the media.
Debates and discussions are being held at various levels on the issues to be raised by Nepal in COP-26. The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Kathmandu, the host country of COP-26, is holding discussions with various organizations and individuals in this regard. The Ministry of Forest and Environment is preparing a list of issues to be raised by Nepal at the conference.
COP-26 is a global conference on climate change organized by the United Nations. Kop means Conference of Parties. The conference is open to all signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The treaty was signed in 1994 and Nepal is a party to it. This is the 26th conference of the year. Its 25th conference was held in Spain in 2019, the 24th conference was held in 2018 in Poland.
The main objective of the conference is to discuss and take necessary steps to reduce the serious impact of climate change on various sectors in the world. Also, treaties and agreements are made during the conference. The agendas for this year's conference are as follows:
- The use of coal in the world is gradually being eliminated
- Prevent deforestation
- To promote electric vehicles
- Finalize the rule book of the Paris Agreement
- To increase cooperation between the government, private sector and civil society
- To strengthen the information system to prevent natural disasters due to climate change
- To reduce the impact of climate change on agriculture
The implementation of the Paris Agreement has been a major topic of discussion at the COP conference on climate change in recent years. The Paris Agreement of 2015 is a legal agreement that all countries must abide by. The agreement was signed by 196 countries during the COP-21 conference in Paris, France. The agreement came into force in November 2016. An important goal is to keep global warming at 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees. Especially after the decision of former US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, its implementation has become a big problem. New President Joe Biden has rejoined the deal. At the same time, the United States is taking various steps to mitigate the effects of climate change. Biden has appointed John Kerry as its climate change envoy. He is discussing with various countries, including China and the United Kingdom, how to mitigate the effects of climate change. The failure to implement the Paris Agreement makes it difficult to meet its goals.
Much needs to be done to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit [1.5 C]. In the Paris Agreement of 2015, the countries have agreed to keep the temperature at 1.5 degrees. At that conference, different countries are preparing to sign various agreements. If temperatures are not allowed to rise further, the world must halve carbon emissions by the end of this century and reduce carbon emissions to zero by the end of the century. Before the conference, all countries should provide details of what they want to achieve by 2030.
Particularly important are the world's richest and largest countries, including China, the United States, India, Russia and Japan. They are producing the most pollution in the world. Addressing the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping has now announced that China will close coal mines outside the country. Especially rich countries use coal for energy production, which has increased pollution. Some reports warn that if carbon emissions are not reduced, it will not be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius and will exceed 2 degrees Celsius.
Countries around the world have much to do urgently to minimize the effects of climate change. The conference organizers have pointed out various things that need to be done immediately. First, to transform the current coal-based energy system into clean energy. Because the energy sector is emitting only a quarter of its carbon. Second, pay special attention to nature conservation because the serious impact of climate change has been seen on biodiversity. Third, countries need to make sweeping changes to their transportation systems as the region emits 10 percent of its carbon. Finally, to explore various sciences and latest technologies to keep the temperature rise at 1.5 degrees.
