The long-awaited United Nations COP26 Climate Summit held in Glasgow, Scotland came to an end last Saturday, and diplomats and activists alike hold a mixed bag of emotions. Though many notable speeches were heard and many deals and declarations were made, the summit ultimately continued a long-standing trend of world leaders pairing incremental steps with big promises to create a false illusion of direct and effective action.
One of the primary goals of the summit, for activists and some diplomats, was to get the UN on track to reduce global warming to an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to avoid the very worst impacts of climate change and strive for a livable planet. We have already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius, and according to the Climate Action Tracker, current policy plans will give us a stark 2.7 Celsius degrees of warming by 2100.
If all governments reach the 2030 targets outlined at the UN summit — not including long-term pledges that have yet to see levels of commitment — we will still have 2.4 degrees Celsius of warming by that year, according to Climate Action Tracker. It is important to note that the UN intends to stay with the Paris Agreement plan of 1.5 Celsius of warming by 2022, but that intention means nothing if they do not take the actions necessary to make the goal happen.
It is clear from the speeches at COP26 that some world leaders understand the gravity of the now with climate change. For example, UN Secretary-General António Guterres restated at the end of the summit the importance of the 1.5-degree warming mark, stopping fossil fuel subsidies, making it expensive to use coal and protecting communities that need help because of climate change.
However, world leaders are still focusing on compromising issues of fossil fuel profit and global warming, which is utterly absurd. Guterres said that the 2021 climate summit did not achieve what it should have. There is no second planet for us to live on, and we are devastating the one Earth we have with greed and thoughtlessness.
Many international deals and plans have come out of this year’s climate summit, most notably the following: A consensus between the United States and China to cut emissions this decade — including a first-time mention of cutting the greenhouse gas of methane. This agreement is notable, as these two countries take the prize for top polluters, but the deal lacked both detail and an acceptable timeline.
India aims to have half of its energy sources be renewable by 2030. More than 100 countries vow to stop deforestation by 2030, spanning roughly 85% of the world’s remaining forests. If this goal comes to fruition, this would be wonderful news. We will be watching.
The Climate Summit brings once more to our attention the disparity between wealthy and underfunded countries in the issue of climate change. Wealthier countries like the United States and much of Western Europe hold just 12% of the global human population, but are accountable for half of greenhouse emissions for the last 17 decades.
Those most responsible will feel the least effects, as underfunded countries do not all have the infrastructure and wealth needed to deal with the effects of climate change like weather catastrophe and food shortages. One of the goals of COP26 was to address this very problem, but it failed. The money needed was not allocated.
The summit saw a number of notable speeches, including those by U.S. President Biden, Former President Obama, Sir David Attenborough from Britain and an address from 24-year-old Indigenous activist Txai Suruí from Brazil. Suruí told the UN that her people, who have lived in the Amazon for over 6,000 years, are feeling the effects of climate change now. She said, “Our plants don’t flower like they did before.” Suruí told the truth to the UN plainly that their timelines for reducing emissions were inadequate. It is important to have speakers like these at climate summits, so that world leaders can hear from the people that their political decisions are directly affecting right now.
Youth activist Greta Thunberg joined other activists’ protests in Glasgow, and together they chanted “No more blah, blah, blah,” calling for less empty promises and more action. Thunberg was not invited to speak at the summit.
The COP26 climate summit this year was a big loss full of little victories. It is a victory that Indigenous activist Txai Suruí was given a platform. It was a victory that top world leaders like the UN Secretary-General stated the truth so plainly about the urgency of our climate crisis. It is a victory that people all over the world can now watch the speeches and decisions that came out of the summit and further understand the problem we face in climate change.
It was a big loss that the United Nations could not do what they must do by completely cutting greenhouse gas emissions now, and instead continuing to choose long-term and ineffective plans, sacrificing our world and dooming those in need for the sake of keeping the wealthy and powerful, wealthy and powerful.
