UN Climate Change News, 3 February 2021 - In an online lecture organized by the London School of Economics, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa today set out the four keys to success at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow in November from the perspective of the UN.
In her lecture, she took stock of the continuing climate emergency five years on from the Paris Climate Change Agreement with some sobering facts. 2020 was among the hottest three years on record and ocean heat is at record levels, all the result of continuously rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Given the rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, 2021 is, according to Patricia Espinosa, the most important year for climate change since the adoption of the Paris Agreement:
"This is the year we can get it right…the year that we achieve a pivotal, transformational change in global climate policy and action".
The four elements that will constitute a successful outcome of the UN Climate Conference COP26 are that:
- Promises made to developing countries are kept, especially the pledge by developed nations to mobilize $100 billion in climate finance annually by 2020.
- Governments wrap up outstanding items and negotiations to fully implement the Paris Agreement.
- Countries lower emissions and raise climate ambition, not only with regard to emission reductions, but also increasing ambition in adapting and building resilience to the impacts of climate change.
- No voice or solution is left behind, through re-engaging with observers and Non-Party Stakeholders in a unity of purpose.
Ms. Espinosa said she is encouraged by the growing momentum for climate action among both governments and non-State actors.
The private sector is giving cause for optimism through crucial initiatives such as the "Race-to-Zero" campaign, which mobilizes governments, businesses and civil society to achieve carbon neutrality as quickly as possible, as well as the unstoppable growth of renewable energy around the world.
Signals of greater ambition on the part of governments include recent announcements by Korea, Japan, China and the United Kingdom on their long-term climate strategies, the European Union's Green Deal and the decision by the United States to rejoin the Paris Agreement.
Reiterating the importance of the year ahead, the Ms. Espinosa said that despite being faced with the twin crises of COVID-19 and climate change, humanity "has never before had the power to consciously and collectively determine its future trajectory and ultimate destiny," and urged the global community to "seize this moment and build a resilient, sustainable and prosperous future for all."
