As Seen from Afar 11/08/2021

 Posted by at 3:52 pm  Politics
Nov 082021
 

COP 26 Day 8 | Will ministers ever agree?

 

Euronews Green delivers a Special COP26 email to my mailbox every day during the two weeks it is running (01-12 November 2021). I’ll publish it in its entirety for those who are interested. This is the fifth in the series.


Today’s takeaway

As COP26 enters its final and decisive week, ministers from all over the world are arriving in Glasgow with a challenging task at hand. They must reach a consensus between almost 200 countries on the rules that will govern the implementation of the 2015 Paris agreement.

Positions are still far apart, according to many observers. A long list of contentious issues includes international carbon markets, deadlines for climate targets and accountability mechanisms.

Loss and Damage – the theme of the day – remains another sticking point. Little progress has been registered so far on the demand from climate-vulnerable countries to receive compensation for the damages caused by historic emissions of wealthy nations.

Meanwhile, the UK COP26 presidency announced several hundreds of millions of pledges of funding to support communities struggling to respond to climate change.

Yet numerous developing nations expressed their pessimism about the progress of negotiations on Monday, saying pledges were high in quantity but low in quality.

“We have not done nearly enough,” said former US President Barack Obama as he spoke at the summit.

Praising young people’s climate action, he told them: “I want you to stay angry, I want you to stay frustrated. But channel that anger and that frustration to keep pushing for more and more.”

In case you weren’t able to follow along this weekend, here are five key takeaways from global climate marches on Saturday.

At a glance

Has the UN ‘failed to address’ the root causes of climate change?

As negotiators and COP attendees were having a well-deserved rest, a People’s Tribunal took place on Sunday. Made up of activists, experts, NGOs and even a former COP negotiator from the Global South, the mock tribunal heard four hours of evidence against the UN organisation.

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Could airplane pollution be solved by fuel made of sunlight and air?

Aeroplane fuel can be made out of just sunlight and air, say scientists in Switzerland. A new system has been created on the roof of ETH Zurich University where engineers are testing whether this type of fuel generation can work in the real world. So is making plane fuel out of natural elements too good to be true – and how does it actually work?
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Green hydrogen: How half the water in a toilet flush could power your home for days

Emission-free hydrogen could, one day, entirely replace fossil fuels – and a start up in Germany believes it has the key ingredient to make it accessible to all. Born in a climate-change affected South Pacific Island, Vaitea Cowan believes deeply in green hydrogen technology.
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As Seen from Afar 11/05/2021

 Posted by at 3:19 pm  Politics
Nov 052021
 

COP 26 Day 5 | Young people raise their voices

 

Euronews Green delivers a Special COP26 email to my mailbox every day during the two weeks it is running (01-12 November 2021). I’ll publish it in its entirety for those who are interested. This is the fourth in the series.


Today’s takeaway

After world leaders, financiers and energy experts had their say, COP26 turned its focus to young people and marginalised communities on Friday.

“What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!” thousands of mostly young protesters chanted as they took to the streets of Glasgow.

Instead of the optimistic statements by officials over the past few days, activists slammed COP26 as a “failure”.

“We will not accept it,” climate activist Greta Thunberg told a buzzing crowd at the Fridays for Future march. She compared the summit to a “global north greenwash festival” and finished with, “this is shameful”.

Young people raised their voices not just outside the summit venue but also inside. The COP26 Presidency said the views of over 40,000 young climate leaders were presented to ministers and negotiators at a meeting today.

However, young activists said they were not sure they were being heard. “I feel like I’m being seen,” said Brianna Fruean, a 23-year-old activist from Samoa at the beginning of the conference. But – “I will know if I’ve been heard by the end of COP.”

In other news today, a study by Oxfam charity found that the world’s richest 1 per cent would emit 30 times more carbon dioxide than the amount deemed compatible with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C. The world’s richest “appear to have a free pass to pollute,” Oxfam said.

If you weren’t able to follow along on Thursday, here are the 5 key takeaways from day 4 of COP26.

At a glance

Climate activists walk 820km in 26 days to reach COP26

Meet the activists who walked from London to Glasgow to raise awareness, engagement and action on the climate crisis. Over the course of 26 days, the hikers battled rain, wind and storms to arrive on time for the beginning of COP26.
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Greta Thunberg speaks to thousands: ‘COP26 is a PR event to fight for the status quo’

The young Swedish activist spoke with urgency, attacking the climate conference itself on the Youth Stage at COP26 today. “COP has turned into a PR event where leaders are giving beautiful speeches and fancy commitments and targets,” she said.
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Meet the young people turning eco-anxiety into eco-activism

Phoebe Hanson felt powerless, alone and afraid when she first learned about climate change as a teenager. But instead of giving in to feelings of despair, she has turned her own experience into a tool for helping other young people suffering from eco-anxiety.
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