Save our planet? 120 countries discussed the climate: What Slovakia has committed itself to!
The COP26 climate summit is in full swing. World leaders from more than 120 countries met this year at a conference in Glasgow, Scotland, which is important for the green future of our planet.
The long and relentless negotiations of the representatives of the individual countries have already brought the first agreements for the protection of the territory, which several leaders managed to fulfill. Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same views, so powers like China and Russia are again not among the team players.
1. Stop deforestation
The beginning of this week brought the first harvest during the negotiations at the climate conference. Already 2 days after the summit, an agreement was on the table to reverse the loss of the world’s forests by 2030. Leaders apparently spoke to the British queen (95), who called on them to act while there was still time.
More than a hundred countries have committed to the agreement, including Slovakia, Indonesia, Canada, Brazil, China and Russia, where 85 percent of the world’s forests are located. They plan to provide € 16.5 billion from both private and public sources for reforestation.
2. End of coal use
More than forty countries around the world want to abandon the use of the dirtiest fossil fuel – coal. In addition to its mining, they also decided to shut down their coal-fired power plants. Canada, Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia have joined the agreement, ending coal with two years.
On the contrary, Australia, as the 11th largest consumer and exporter of coal in the world, was missing from the agreement. So is India and China, which together burn two-thirds of the world’s coal. Beijing is even planning to build more coal-fired power plants. The United States did not commit to the agreement either, but promised to at least use foreign financing, coal and gas.
3. The greenhouse gases are returned
Greenhouse gas emissions are the single largest contributor to climate change. The coronavirus pandemic has helped restrict the movement of people and parts of the economy, resulting in a 5.4 percent reduction in oxide emissions. However, scientists from the Global Carbon project at the climate conference warned against their increase by 4.9 percent.
With such a high level of pollution, we should approach the record level of pollution since 2019. It released the most pollutants from world emissions into China’s air this year, up to 31 percent. Both the US and the European Union emitted fewer emissions than in 2019. The study presented at the conference provided that if we want to keep the Earth’s warming below 1.5 degrees, we have 11 years to do so.
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4. Russia, China and Saudi Arabia have “on the hook”
They did not find time to discuss saving the environment. Although the critical situation said that we were 5 minutes from the disaster, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia decided not to attend the conference. The criticism of one of the biggest players was not forgiven even by the American president Joe Biden (78).
“China has lost the ability to influence people around the world and all people here at the COP. I argued in the same way in relation to Russia, “Biden said of the Chinese and Russian presidents. However, Vladimir Putin (69) referred, at least through a video, to Russia’s commitment to protecting forests and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
5. Stop methane emissions
Within nine years, they want to reduce global methane emissions by about 30 percent compared to 2020. More than a hundred have decided to put a stop to this odorless, colorless and explosive gas. Reducing methane emissions would help reduce the temperature by 0.2 degrees in 2050.
The name called Global Methane Pledge, the right promise of methane, has also been joined by countries that are associated with almost all methane in the world. However, they are again missing Russia, India and China, which are among the most dangerous environments with this gas. Excessive amounts can account for more than 25 percent of the Earth’s warming.