COP 26: What's it all about?

Climate Change

COP 26: What's it all about?

The UK is hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. These meetings are the forum for negotiations on global efforts to tackle the climate crisis under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement.

COP25 held in Madrid (2019) failed to take any significant decisions so COP26 is seen by many as the crucial opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5˚C.

A Brief History

1990 – 1995 This first phase involved the creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC has the ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The convention not only identifies guiding principles but also establishes processes and institutions to enable countries to cooperate to achieve this aim.

1995 – 2004 The second phase of the climate governance regime involved the initiation of the Kyoto Protocol negotiations. The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding instrument, which triggered legally binding commitments on specially developed countries to reduce their emissions.

2005 – present day The current phase focuses on developing a more global approach to address climate change, with nationally-tailored flexible commitments, which push every country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, irrespective of whether they are developed or not. Under this phase in 2015 global community adopted the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a binding international agreement that commits countries to work together to limit global warming this century to well below 2˚C, preferably to 1.5˚C above preindustrial temperatures. Currently, 192 Parties out of 197 Parties to the UNFCCC are Parties to the Paris Agreement.

Key Issues to Discuss and Resolve in COP26

Some issues could make or break the negotiation outcomes of COP26. Here are five issues that require substantive technical work and political consensus to be resolved in COP26.

1. Common Timeframes

Countries have not yet agreed on the common time frame for their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). At COP24, it was decided that climate targets beginning to implement in 2031 should have common time frames, but there is no agreement yet on length (5 years or 10 years). During COP25 in Madrid, countries could not agree on whether to synchronize their NDC targets with the established five-year ambition cycle. They also could not agree on when to make such a decision, as some argued there was no urgency. During the Climate Dialogues, countries continued exchanging views to better understand what factors could either prevent or enable the overdue decision. A decision on a common timeframe needs to be taken in COP26 to set a clear picture of emission reduction in the upcoming years.

2. Climate finance

Climate finance refers to the financial support that richer, highemitting countries provide or mobilize to help less-developed nations to deal with climate change-related adaptation. Finance for climate action is showing the least progress and the greatest signs of distrust. COP26 will have a heavy finance agenda, including the start of negotiations on a new collective finance target, which must be agreed upon before 2025. It is vital that developed countries reaffirm their commitment toward increasing public climate finance over the coming year to build confidence ahead of the next crucial round of negotiations.

3. Transparency Framework

Negotiators hope to reach an agreement on a transparency framework, through which countries will report and communicate progress in meeting their climate targets. This is important to increase trust and confidence in the Paris Agreement process and to better hold countries accountable for their commitments. A lot of work remains for negotiators to finalize the technical details of the Paris Agreement’s enhanced transparency framework. Pending decisions include the details of the tables and formats countries will use to track and report their greenhouse gas emissions, climate action, and support.

Negotiators also need to decide on the linkages between the Paris Agreement’s transparency framework and provisions for the use of Article 6, which is another contentious issue for COP26.

4. Loss and Damage

Loss & Damage refers to situations where the climate impacts a country faces, either from slow-onset events like drought and sea-level rise or sudden-onset events like storms that exceeds their adaptive capacity. The most important demand from climate-vulnerable and poor countries is for new and additional funding as well as technical assistance and capacity building for dealing with the loss of land, property, livelihood, and culture that are now inevitable, or will be caused by continued insufficient climate action. The US has traditionally opposed efforts to be held financially or legally liable for the damage of climate impacts on vulnerable nations, and this is expected to be a thorny issue again this COP26.

5. Market Mechanisms for Carbon

Outstanding negotiations related to Article 6, particularly on carbon markets, will continue to be a major focus. The UNFCCC hosted several informal closed dialogues to explore how countries could reach a consensus. Given the failure to agree on decisions at COP25, the key issues from 2019 remain unresolved are – how to avoid double-counting (ensure that emissions reductions used in carbon transfers are not counted twice); how to ensure overall mitigation of global emissions (so that Article 6 is not just an offsetting tool but rather leads to emissions reductions); how a levy on trades can fund adaptation efforts; and how to clarify whether pre-2020 credits generated under the Kyoto Protocol could continue to apply to emissions targets under the Paris Agreement. Following the lack of decision at COP25, weak rules were endorsed under the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization, which could undercut ambitious efforts in this sector. Countries must find a robust compromise at COP26.

A significant amount of work remains in the negotiations for a successful COP26. However, the urgent need to respond to the climate emergency means that state parties have to try hard (in both technical and political negotiations) to find a landing zone to build trust and confidence to ensure the work gets done. Only then can COP26 send the message that the world is in the track of sustainability while making our economies and our people more resilient and carbon-free. ■

Sharaban Tahura Zaman

Sharaban Tahura Zaman

Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.) Student, Berkeley Law, University of California, Berkeley, USA