In news– COP26 summit which was held in Glasgow, Scotland has been concluded recently.
About COP26-
- The U.K. Presidency of COP26 had four key objectives summarized as “coal, cash, cars, and trees”—in other words:
- Ending coal power generation (a pledge now endorsed by 46 countries with a deadline set at 2040).
- Providing the long promised $100 billion annual support towards developing countries’ green transition (a goal that was meant to cover the period 2020-2025).
- Supporting electric vehicles and a phase out of gasoline and diesel-powered motor vehicles by 2040.
- Reversing deforestation in an attempt to protect existing nature-based solutions to capturing emissions.
- COP26 resulted in the completion of the Paris Agreement rulebook and kept the Paris targets alive, giving us a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- During the summit, member countries agreed for the Glasgow Climate Pact, which will accelerate action on climate this decade, and finally complete the Paris Rulebook.
- The pact calls on 197 countries to report their progress towards more climate ambition next year, at COP27, set to take place in Egypt.
- For the first time, COP agreed a position on phasing down unabated coal power.
- Meanwhile, more than 40 countries – including major coal-users such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile – agreed to shift away from coal, one of the biggest generators of CO2 emissions.
- Leaders from over 120 countries, representing about 90 per cent of the world’s forests, pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
- There was also a methane pledge, led by the United States and the European Union, by which more than 100 countries agreed to cut emissions of this greenhouse gas by 2030.
- The private sector also showed strong engagement with nearly 500 global financial services firms agreeing to align $130 trillion – some 40 per cent of the world’s financial assets – with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, including limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- The United States and China pledged to boost climate cooperation over the next decade.
- Regarding green transport, more than 100 national governments, cities, states and major car companies signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero-Emission Cars and Vans to end the sale of internal combustion engines by 2035 in leading markets, and by 2040 worldwide.
- At least 13 nations also committed to end the sale of fossil fuel powered heavy duty vehicles by 2040.
- A group of 11 countries led by Ireland, France, Denmark, and Costa Rica among others created the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), first-of-its kind alliance to set an end date for national oil and gas exploration and extraction.
- Over hundred countries have agreed to launch Adaptation Research Alliance which will catalyse and scale investment in action-oriented research and innovation for adaptation that strengthens resilience in communities most vulnerable to climate change.
India’s initiatives as part of COP26-
- India announced that its net zero target is to be achieved by 2070 which is two decades after than the desired deadline of the year 2050 .
- To strengthen India’s stand for renewable energy like solar energy, India has signed to the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda in this year’s COP26 along with over 35 other nations to promote clean energy and make it more affordable.
- The Government of India has launched ‘E-Amrit’, a web portal on electric vehicles (EVs), at the ongoing COP26 Summit in Glasgow, UK.
- E-Amrit is a one-stop destination for all information on electric vehicles—busting myths around the adoption of EVs, their purchase, investment opportunities, policies, subsidies, etc.
- The portal has been developed and hosted by NITI Aayog under a collaborative knowledge exchange programme with the UK government and as part of the UK–India Joint Roadmap 2030, signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
- E-Amrit intends to complement initiatives of the government on raising awareness on EVs and sensitizing consumers on the benefits of switching to electric vehicles.
- Despite being the third-largest methane emitter, India was not a signatory of Global methane pledge.
- India also was not part of the pledge to deforestation despite hosting the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.The ARA involves a handful of UK universities, including SOAS in London, plus the universities of East Anglia and Exeter, University of Liberia, and the University of Maryland in the US, philanthropic organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology’s climate Knowledge and Innovation Community.
About the Conference of the Parties (COP)-
- COP is a UN-facilitated effort to help stave off what has been called a looming climate emergency.
- In 1992, the UN organized a major event in Rio de Janeiro called the Earth Summit, in which the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted.
- In this treaty, nations agreed to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere” to prevent dangerous interference from human activity on the climate system.
- Today, the treaty has 197 signatories.
- Since 1994, when the treaty entered into force, every year the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits or “COPs”, which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’.
- COP25 was held in Madrid, Spain and next COP27 will be held in Egypt.
Source: The Hindu
