The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow will begin this weekend
Party The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Glasgow, UK on October 31-12. November. This is the first meeting since the start of the Paris Agreement in 2020. A key goal is to speed up countries ’efforts to tighten emissions.
Especially in Glasgow 1-2. The Heads of State and Government meeting at the World Leaders Summit in November are expected to announce stricter emission reduction commitments. Finland’s representative at the meeting of the Heads of State and Government is President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö. In the second week of the conference, the Finnish delegation will be led by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Krista Mikkonen.
The countries’ commitments are not enough to limit warming to 1.5 degrees
Countries were asked to update their emission reduction targets ahead of the Glasgow meeting. Stricter targets have already been announced by the EU and the US. The EU is committed to reducing its emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and the United States by at least 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
The key background document for the meeting is a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in August that the global average temperature rise will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius already this decade. In September, the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change published a synthesis report on the countries’ commitments. According to the report, emissions will increase by 16% by 2030, while the IPCC says they should be reduced by 45% to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. With these measures, global warming would be around 2.7 degrees.
“New and stronger efforts are now needed to implement the Paris Agreement. We are all committed to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, but this is not yet sufficiently reflected in concrete action. everyone must take their share of responsibility, “says Minister for the Environment and Climate Krista Mikkonen.
The details of the implementation of the Paris Agreement will be discussed
The Glasgow meeting will not discuss the countries’ emission reduction commitments, but will focus on the tools for implementing the Paris Agreement. The aim is to reach an agreement e.g. Enhanced Transparency Framework, a cycle that requires countries to tighten their commitments and rules for the use of international market mechanisms. The rules of the market mechanisms concern how countries could use the climate measures they finance in their partner countries to meet the emissions targets they have announced for the Paris Agreement.
“It is important for the EU and Finland that the emission reductions achieved through the mechanisms are real and that the same emission reductions are not calculated for the benefit of more than one country,” says Finland’s chief negotiator. Marjo Nummelin.
The meeting will also seek solutions for countries’ adaptation to the effects of climate change and for financing climate action, especially in developing countries. Under the Paris Agreement, developing countries pledged to contribute at least $ 100 billion in annual climate finance until 2025, but at the moment, the implementation of the funding looks challenging. In addition, a financing perspective for developing countries after 2025 is needed. In particular, increasing adaptation funding is a key objective for developing countries.
“Although the September preparatory meeting in Italy progressed in good spirits, the negotiations have progressed rather slowly overall since the Madrid climate summit. , Nummelin says.
The campaigns of the UK Presidency aim to encourage countries outside the meeting rooms
As the host country of the meeting, UK campaigns have focused on five main themes: financing, adaptation and resilience to climate change, energy, transport and nature-based solutions.
Finland is involved in many of these campaigns and related initiatives, including the Adaptation Action Coalition, which aims to support countries in their practical efforts to adapt to climate change, and the Masters in Adaptation Financing, which want to improve quality and quantity. in particular on the adaptation and access to finance of the least developed countries. Both initiatives support the progress of the negotiation process. Finland is also involved in the phasing out of coal power and in the coalition promoting the protection of the seas.
The first major physical UN conference during the COVID-19 era
The Glasgow Conference is the first major UN event during the COVID-19 pandemic to be held as a physical meeting. The COVID-19 pandemic does not appear to have affected the number of participants, but the Conference of the Parties and numerous side events are expected to bring a total of about 28,000 people to the city.
The coalition of finance finance ministers will meet in conjunction with the Glasgow climate summit on Wednesday 3 November. Discussions will focus on how to integrate climate issues into economic policy-making. Finland will be represented at the meeting by Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko, who will co-chair the alliance with the Indonesian Minister of Finance.
Health safety has been taken into account in the number of participants in each meeting, in the planning and cleaning of the meeting rooms and in the schedule of the meetings. Participants are expected to perform the COVID-19 rapid test on a daily basis and to participate in PCR tests at the beginning of the meeting and, if necessary, later. When visiting and moving around the venues, participants should wear a mask and maintain a safe distance from other participants.
You can follow the Glasgow conference and the Finnish delegation on Twitter using # ilmastoCOP26.
Source: Ministry of the Environment