SPECIAL REPORT: LOOKING AHEAD TO COP26: CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE COMMONWEALTH
LOOKING AHEAD TO COP26: WHY PARLIAMENTARIANS ARE INTEGRAL TO THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE The landmark report released recently by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has put the world on red alert. Titled ‘Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis’1, it contains significant and unequivocal evidence about the disturbing speed, extent and intensity with which the global climate crisis is unfolding. The science is crystal clear, and what it proves is something every legislator and policymaker in the Commonwealth must recognise: climate change is caused by human activity; it is happening at an unprecedented rate; and its impacts are intensifying and affecting millions of people across the world – in particular, those living in the most vulnerable nations. Without significant actions taken by governments to curb global warming to 1.5°Celcius above pre-industrial levels, we are headed towards irrevocable and destructive transformations to our environment and way of life. Already we can see the devastating impacts in all corners of the Commonwealth, including the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, from super storms to raging floods and wildfires. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)2 points out that the number of disasters related to a weather, climate or water hazard has increased fivefold worldwide from 1970 to 2019. On average, these disasters kill more than 800 people each week, while causing around US$202 million in losses each day. At the same time, more subtle impacts continue to put lives and livelihoods at risk. Sea level rise is damaging crops and homes in coastal communities in the Pacific, while droughts and changing rain patterns are driving up food prices, putting pressure on tens of millions of people in Eastern and Southern Africa. Climate change is also expanding the range of zoonotic infectious diseases those that pass from animals to humans – due to changing natural environments. These are realities affecting people and communities, which cannot be ignored.
Role of Parliamentarians Parliamentarians play a vital role in tackling the global climate crisis. As well as working on legislation, regulations and policies, they have an important function in holding governments to account on national and international commitments, including the Paris Agreement – the only legally binding international treaty on climate change. In addition, Parliamentarians have a responsibility to monitor the implementation of climate laws and to ensure that vital resources are allocated within national budgets to ensure climate goals are achieved. More than 130 countries3 have adopted or are considering netzero carbon emission targets to combat climate change. In other words, their policymakers have either successfully passed or are currently discussing potential legal measures that aim to prevent new greenhouse gas emissions being added into the atmosphere, which is the main driver of climate change. In the Commonwealth, at least four countries – Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the UK - have enshrined net-zero targets in law. Eight more member countries have either proposed legislation or include it in a policy document, while about 30 others are discussing the target. Parliamentarians are central to the outcomes of these discussions, with the ability to steer the national debate and focus. Parliamentarians also serve as an important conduit for the will and voices of their constituencies. As public awareness about climate change increases around the world, there are mounting calls for urgent action, including from vulnerable populations. According to a global survey4 of public opinion conducted by Oxford University and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a clear majority (64%) said that climate change was an emergency, out of 1.2 million respondents in 50 countries. Of this group, 59% said that the world should do everything necessary to urgently respond. The highest level of support was in small island developing states (74%), followed by high-income
Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland, QC is the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and
she has served the 54 governments and 2.4 billion people of the Commonwealth since April 2016. Born in Dominica, she moved to the UK at an early age and has pursued a dynamic career in law, public service and politics. A lawyer by profession, she was the youngest woman ever to be appointed Queen's Counsel and the first woman since 1315 to be Attorney-General for England and Wales. She became a Parliamentarian in 1997 when appointed to the UK House of Lords as Baroness Scotland of Asthal.
234 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Three | 100 years of publishing
