‘We count on countries like Switzerland’ – Expat Guide to Switzerland
COP26 President Alok Sharma calls for more measures to limit climate change to below 2 ° C. The British MP says he depends on Switzerland – a “very active negotiating country” – to find common solutions.
We know what to do because we have already agreed on our goal. In 2015, the world signed the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to tackle the climate crisis. This agreement obliges us to limit the global temperature rise to well below two degrees, with the goal of 1.5 degrees, because science tells us that this would avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Every fraction of a degree makes a difference. An average global temperature increase of two degrees versus 1.5 degrees would affect hundreds of millions more people, and twice as many plant and three times as many insect species would lose large parts of their habitat. This is of particular importance for Switzerland, an Alpine country where temperatures rise twice as fast as the global average.
But since the 1.5 degree target was set, the world has not done nearly enough and our planet is warming. In my role as President-elect of COP26, I have seen the effects firsthand: melting glaciers, crop deterioration, displaced villagers. If we carry on as we are, these effects will get faster and worse.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report said the earth is likely to hit the crucial 1.5 degree limit in the early 2030s unless we take deep cuts in CO2 and others in the decades to come Greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change and its consequences can already be felt. Any increase above 1.5 degrees means the situation is likely to get worse quickly. This is now the crucial decade for us to act. We must act now to make consistent and concerted efforts to reduce emissions over the next decade. And we need to use the recovery from Covid-19 to rethink our economies, build a better future, one with green jobs and clean air, increase prosperity without harming the planet.
This is what makes this United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow – COP26 – so crucial. It has to be the moment when every country and every part of society lives up to its responsibility to protect our precious planet and to keep the 1.5 degree goal alive. And we have a clear plan to get there.
Four important goals
As President-elect of COP26, I, along with the Prime Minister, other fellow ministers and the entire UK diplomatic network, urge action on four main objectives.
First, we need to get the world on the move to cut emissions until they hit zero net by the middle of this century. This is imperative to keep the 1.5 degree target within reach. So we need countries that have clear targets for reducing emissions. This means that the short-term emission reduction targets for 2030 by mid-century will be net zero. And these goals must be scientifically sound so that net zero isn’t just a vague goal, but a concrete plan.
We must also take action in the most polluting sectors. If we’re serious about 1.5 degrees, Glasgow has to be the COP, adding coal power to the past, giving time to deforestation and signaling the end of polluting vehicles. So we’re working with governments and through international organizations to end international coal funding, one of my personal priorities. We are calling on countries to give up coal power and we are working with developing countries to support their transition to clean energy.
We’re seeing real progress. I was delighted to jointly chair the meeting of G7 climate and environment ministers in July, where we reached a historic agreement that no G7 nation would fund international coal projects anymore. At the UN General Assembly in September, China followed suit and committed to stop building new coal projects. I expect to see more commitments on coal, cars, methane and deforestation at COP26.
In order to advance this goal further by 2030, we also need to finalize the Paris rulebook. This must be resolved if we are to unleash the full force of the Paris Agreement. The open questions have been discussed for years without a solution. I am grateful for the consultations with the Rwandan Minister Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya and the Swiss Minister Simonetta Sommaruga on Common time frames. We have seen progress in these and other areas, but much remains to be done to achieve full consensus.
Our second goal is to protect people and nature from the worst effects of climate change. The climate crisis has already gripped us and we need to meet the very real need for flood protection, warning systems and other vital measures to minimize, avert and deal with the losses and damage caused by climate change.
Our third goal is finances, without which the task ahead is nearly impossible. This week the UK’s COP presidency released a climate finance implementation plan to provide clarity on when and how developed countries will meet the US $ 100 billion climate finance target to help developing countries fight to help combat climate change and adapt to its effects. The UK is leading by example, pledging £ 11.6 billion (CHF 14.56 billion) between 2021 and 2025. And under the British Presidency, every G7 nation pledged to do more for the $ 100 billion. But we need all developed countries to strengthen. It’s a matter of trust.
The Paris Agreement set us on the path to transform global financial flows to create a green and sustainable economy. So, in addition to providing public finance, we need to free up trillions of dollars in private funding to enable the transition to a greener world. Following the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) mandated by the G20, Switzerland has passed valuable laws to implement TCFDs by 2024. These laws will oblige large Swiss companies to report climate-related risks, and Switzerland has published guidelines on which companies and the risks involved.
Fourth, we must work together to achieve these goals. That means building consensus among governments so that the Glasgow negotiations are a success. It also means getting companies and civil society on board and building international cooperation in critical sectors. To achieve this goal, we will take an inclusive approach and count on countries like Switzerland, which are very active as chair of a negotiating group in these negotiations, to find solutions with strong support.
I call on all countries to step up their efforts towards these goals, because COP26 is our last hope to keep the 1.5 degree target alive, our best chance for a better future – a future with green jobs and cleaner Air. As my childhood hero and advocate to our COP26 President, Sir David Attenborough said: “The moment of crisis has come … The future of humanity, and indeed all life on earth, depends on us.”
This is our moment. There are no second chances. Let’s take it together.
The British politician Alok Sharma has been a member of the Conservative Party since 2010. In January 2021, after being appointed President-elect of COP26, he stepped down as State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of SWI swissinfo.ch.