Nina Chestney

LONDON, (Reuters) – Representatives of nearly 200 countries will gather in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31 to November 12 to discuss climate issues and strengthen global action under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The conference’s success will be determined by the government actions.

These are just a few of the problems that need to be addressed:

EMISSIONS CUTS PLEDGES

In Paris six years ago, nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global warming below 2C and 1.5C. This requires that greenhouse gas emissions are cut by half by 2030, and net zero by midcentury.

Due to last year’s coronavirus epidemic, the U.N. conference has been postponed. This year, countries have until December 31st to increase their emissions reduction pledges. These are called nationally determined contributions (or NDCs).

An analysis by U.N. of NDCs that had been revised or new submitted before the 31st of July showed that these 113 countries together would reduce their emissions by 12 percent compared to 2010.

However, the NDCs from all 191 Parties to the Paris Agreement equates to an 16% increase of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as compared with 2010, the Paris Agreement stated.

120 countries have submitted their revised NDCs. However, there are varying levels of consistency and no set time frame for implementing pledges. It is also difficult to compare the NDCs because of the variety of approaches.

Also, negotiators must agree upon common timelines to reduce future emission cuts.

China, India (and Saudi Arabia) are the major emitters of greenhouse gases. However, they haven’t yet submitted strengthened NDCs to this conference known as COP26.

FINANCE

Since 2009, countries developed agreed to contribute $100 billion annually to developing countries to combat the effects of climate change.

The latest data, however, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, (OECD), shows that developed nation’s governments have raised $79.6 Billion for vulnerable countries in 2019. This is a 2% increase from the $78.3B in 2018.

Experts warn that if rich countries fail to meet the $100 billion per year target, this could cause distrust in climate negotiations. For 2025, a new goal in finance must be established.

DAMAGES AND LOSS

Although governments agreed to tackle the impacts of climate change upon developing countries, it is not clear if there will be any compensation or liability.

Although a platform has been established to allow technical assistance for countries that are vulnerable, the developing world wants a better mechanism to incorporate financing.

FOSSIL FUELS

Alok Sharma of the UK, COP26 president has declared that he hopes this conference will be one in which coal power is consigned as history.

While the U.N. called for the elimination of all coal-burning fuels by 2030 in OECD nations, ministers of environment from Group of 20 major economies are yet to come up with a plan.

Article 6

The Paris Agreement’s Article 6 covering the role and responsibilities of carbon markets has been a subject of controversy since its signing. At the end of 2019, there was no progress on this issue.

To avoid double counting of emission reductions, the article advocates for robust accounting. The article also seeks to create a U.N. central mechanism for trading carbon credits from emission reductions from low-carbon project.