COP26: SDG or NDC? Our guide to the language you need to know

COP26

Let’s commencement with the sanction of the lawsuit itself, COP26. In layman’s terms, this is the 26th UN clime alteration conference, but officially it is the 26th Conference of the Parties (or COP) to the UN Framework Convention connected Climate Change (UNFCCC). Let’s interruption that down a bit…

The UNFCCC was established pursuing the 1992 UN Conference connected Environment and Development successful Rio (often referred to arsenic the Earth Summit). The stated purpose of the UNFCCC was to trim greenhouse gases successful bid to forestall unsafe clime alteration caused by quality activity. 

Conferences of the Parties to the convention, oregon COPs, are the ceremonial meetings that person taken spot each twelvemonth since 1995, isolated from 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic meant that COP26 was delayed by a year.

SDG

There are 17 inter-linked Sustainable Development Goals, oregon SDGs, which absorption connected challenges ranging from cleanable vigor access, to poorness simplification and liable consumption. 

Together, the SDGs marque up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN’s blueprint for bid and prosperity for radical and the planet.

Climate Change is 1 of the Goals (SDG 13), but t’s becoming progressively wide that clime alteration plays a relation successful many, if not each of the SDGs, and that achieving the 2030 Agenda volition beryllium intolerable without making superior inroads into tackling the problem.

NDC

This stands for Nationally Determined Contribution, the elaborate program that idiosyncratic countries are required to make, nether the Paris Agreement, to amusement however they volition chopped the magnitude of harmful greenhouse gases they emit. All countries are expected to revise their NDC to bespeak greater ambition. 

Presently, these plans are not capable to support planetary warming to 1.5° Celsius supra pre-industrial levels, truthful this year, determination is accrued unit connected countries to sharply summation their level of ambition.

Net Zero

Put simply, nett zero means cutting emissions to arsenic adjacent to zero arsenic possible, specified arsenic by moving toward a greenish system and cleanable renewable energy, with immoderate remaining emissions reabsorbed, including oceans and forests.

Practically each state has joined the Paris Agreement connected clime change, which calls for keeping the planetary somesthesia to 1.5°C supra pre-industrial epoch levels.

If we proceed to pump retired the emissions that origin clime change, however, temperatures volition proceed to emergence good beyond 1.5, to levels that endanger the lives and livelihoods of radical everywhere.

This is wherefore a increasing fig of countries are making commitments to execute "net zero" emissions by 2050. It’s a large task, requiring ambitious actions starting close now.

1.5°C

You’ll beryllium proceeding “the extremity of 1.5 degrees Celsius” a batch during COP. In a 2018, an IPCC  report, reviewed by thousands of scientists and governments, recovered that limiting planetary somesthesia emergence to nary much than 1.5°C supra pre-industrial levels (in the mid-18th century), would assistance america debar the worst clime impacts and support a liveable climate. 

According to the latest data, our satellite has already warmed betwixt 1.06 to 1.26 supra pre-industrial levels, and adjacent if existent promises are met, we would inactive beryllium connected a people to scope 2.7°C this century. This would mean a “climate catastrophe” arsenic highlighted by the UN Secretary-General, with a imaginable illness of ecosystems, and beingness arsenic we cognize it.

IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel connected Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN assemblage for assessing the subject related to clime change.

Created successful 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the nonsubjective of the IPCC is to supply governments astatine each levels with technological accusation that they tin usage to make clime policies.

IPCC reports are besides a cardinal input into the planetary clime alteration negotiations that volition beryllium happening during COP26. A large report released successful August showed that unless determination are rapid, sustained and large-scale reductions of greenhouse state emissions, including CO2, methane and others, the extremity of limiting planetary warming to 1.5C volition beryllium beyond reach.

SIDS

Small Island Developing States are a chiseled radical of 58 low-lying land nations that are highly susceptible and often affected by upwind extremes and clime change, including the accrued severity of cyclones, tempest surges, dense rains, droughts, sea-level emergence and water acidification.

During the latest high-level week of the General Assembly, SIDS leaders from Fiji, Tuvalu and the Maldives took centre signifier saying their nations are facing an existential menace if affluent countries neglect to marque bully connected their promises to crook the tide connected planetary warming.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Aerial presumption of harm caused by Hurricane Irma successful Antigua and Barbuda (2017).

Climate finance

Broadly speaking, climate finance relates to the wealth which needs to beryllium spent connected a full scope of activities to trim the emissions that are causing clime change, and to assistance radical accommodate to and physique resilience for the impacts of clime alteration that are already occurring.  

It tin impact local, national, oregon transnational financing, which whitethorn beryllium drawn from public, backstage and alternate sources of financing. Climate concern is captious to addressing clime change, due to the fact that large-scale investments are required to importantly trim emissions, notably successful sectors that emit ample quantities of greenhouse gases, and to assistance adaptation efforts. 

In 2009, during the COP15 successful Copenhagen affluent nations promised to transmission $100 cardinal a twelvemonth to less-wealthy nations by 2020, to assistance them accommodate to clime alteration and mitigate further rises successful temperature.

The committedness inactive hasn’t been delivered—climate concern to processing countries presently amounts to astir $80 billion--, and truthful clime concern volition beryllium 1 of the biggest issues of treatment during COP26. 

SBTi

This stands for the UN-backed Science Based Target initiative. Companies which motion up to the inaugural acceptable science-based emanation simplification targets, which permission them amended equipped to tackle clime change, and making them much competitive, successful the modulation to a net-zero economy.

Science-based people mounting has go a modular concern practice, and corporations are playing a large relation successful driving down planetary greenhouse state emissions and successful supporting the implementation of state commitments.

Nature-based Solutions

Nature-based Solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, and reconstruct earthy and modified ecosystems that code societal challenges efficaciously and adaptively, simultaneously providing quality well-being and biodiversity benefits.

Nature-Based Solutions are an indispensable portion of the wide planetary effort to execute the goals of the Paris Agreement connected Climate Change: they are a captious complement to decarbonisation, reducing clime alteration risks and establishing clime resilient societies.

Examples see monolithic histrion planting programmes, which sorb c and supply extortion from aggravated rainfall, and rebuilding mangroves, which supply effectual and inexpensive earthy barriers against coastal floods and shoreline erosion.

G20

The Group of 20 (G20) is an intergovernmental forum comprising astir of the world’s largest economies: 19 nations and the European Union.  They enactment to code large issues related to the planetary economy, specified arsenic planetary fiscal stability, clime alteration mitigation, and sustainable development. 

The UN Secretary-General has made wide that clime enactment indispensable beryllium led by G20 nations, which collectively relationship for astir 90 per cent of gross satellite product, 75-80 per cent of planetary commercialized and 2 thirds oregon the world’s population. 

Their committedness during COP26 is important for curbing greenhouse gases and halt fuelling clime change. 

AGN

The African Group of Negotiators connected Climate Change (AGN) was established astatine COP1 successful Berlin, Germany successful 1995 arsenic an confederation of African subordinate states that represents the interests of the portion successful the planetary clime alteration negotiations, with a communal and unified voice.

GCAA

Outside the ceremonial intergovernmental negotiations, countries, cities and regions, businesses and civilian nine members crossed the satellite are already taking enactment for the climate.

The Global Climate Action Agenda (GCAA), initiated nether the Lima Paris Action Agenda, was launched to spur accelerated clime action, boost practice betwixt governments, section authorities, the concern community, investors, and civilian society, and to enactment the adoption and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. 

UN News is producing peculiar sum from COP26 successful Glasgow. You tin find each our COP-related stories here.