COP 26: ‘Rich nations have kicked the can down the road’ The Conference of Parties (COP) climate negotiations in Glasgow has just ended. Climate science makes it clear that we are running out of time to avoid climate catastrophe and this COP was vital in terms of achieving global agreement to act to limit overall climate heating. Sadly, it didn’t deliver what was needed. Here is a very quick response from Friends of the Earth. It’s been an emotional roller coaster: normally leaders appear in the second week of negotiations, but this time, sensing the urgency, many leaders were on stage in the first few days, making a series of pledges, including: • A deal to halt deforestation by 2030 (Australia signed on to this, although it won’t cover logging of native forests) • A pledge by many nations to cut methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030 (Australia refused to sign) • Various pledges to assist ‘developing’ nations (the Global South) to transition to clean energy while adapting to the impacts of climate change.
www.foe.org.au
After huge community pressure, the PM finally caved to public opinion and announced a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 shortly before the COP. At this COP, countries were expected to announce their emission targets for 2030. While it is widely agreed that emissions must plummet this decade if we are to even have a chance of staying close to the agreed goal of holding overall warming between 1.5°C and 2°C, Australia failed from the first day by refusing to promise more ambition than the paltry targets for 2030 announced years ago by Tony Abbott while he was PM (26-28 percent below 2005 levels). Nations with similar economies went much further – for instance the USA committed to 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, while the UK promised 68 percent below 1990 levels. Instead, Australia offered a plan to achieve net zero through “technology not taxes,” using the catchphrase “The Australian Way,” with a lot of vague claims and promises that we would rely on technology that doesn’t even work yet. When the government finally released
FoE presence at Cop26
Chain Reaction #141
December 2021
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