Sustainability Key To Pollution Reduction Might Be In Practice At COP26 – OpEd

 

October 29, 2021  

By Naseem Sheikh*

Glasgow, UK is hosting a summit that’s seen as vital if climate change is to be brought in restraint. The meeting in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 Nov could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

The COP, or conference of the parties, is the overall decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will be its 26th annual meeting, where decisions will be made by 197 countries to prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference” with the climate.

Glasgow was chosen by the UK to host COP26 due to its experience in hosting world-class events, commitment to sustainability, and first-rate facilities. The city is also currently ranked 4th in the world in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) that promotes responsible business tourism best practices.

The world is warming because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. Extreme weather events linked to climate change – including heat waves, floods, and forest fires – are intensifying. The past decade was the warmest on record, and all governments agree urgent collective action is needed.

The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

The COP-26 is being held under the presidency of the UK that is partnering with Italy for the event. It will be the World Leader’s summit of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Agents of about 200 nations will meet in Glasgow, Scotland for the Joined together Nations’ 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26) to consider the state of the climate emergency. There, they’ll audit and can fortify the Paris Assertion, the universal community’s system for worldwide participation in climate activity

The G-20 is a leading global forum that brings together the world’s major economies. The forum has met every year since 1999, its members account for more than 80 percent of the global GDP, 75 percent of global trade, and 60 percent of the population of the planet. The G-20 has emerged as the premier global forum for international economic cooperation.

The Rome summit will be attended by heads of state and government of G-20 member countries, the European Union, and other invited countries and several international organizations.

The forthcoming summit will be centered around the theme ‘People, Planet, Prosperity, focussing on areas of recovery from the pandemic and strengthening of global health governance.

It will also focus on economic recovery and resilience, climate change and energy transition, and sustainable development and food security.

The high-level segment of COP-26, titled the World Leaders’ Summit (WLS), will be held on November 1 to 2. The summit will be attended by heads of state and governments of more than 120 countries.

The UNFCCC embodies the global will and vision to combat climate change. The periodic Conference of Parties to this Convention has emerged as global climate summits, providing an opportunity for stocktaking and for charting the way forward.

At COP-26, the parties will work to achieve the completion of Paris Agreement implementation guidelines; the mobilization of climate finance; actions to strengthen climate adaptation, technology development, and transfer; and keeping in reach the Paris Agreement goals of limiting the rise in global temperatures.

The COP-26 summit is being billed as one of the biggest ever congregations of world leaders and experts in combating climate change.

Sustainability is key to pollution reduction 

COP26 Presidency releases details about its approach to food and catering for conference delegates, including information on sustainability and food sourcing, and highlighted that, COP26 delegates will be served sustainable, locally-sourced food at the upcoming climate summit in Glasgow. Overall, 95 percent of the food will be from the UK, major sourced from Scotland, and be seasonal.

COP26 sources 80% of food from Scotland for its sustainable menus. This will put sustainability at the heart of catering for the summit, reducing emissions, and promoting environment-friendly food production.

COP26 will set an example for other large-scale international events, in terms of food sourcing, by taking several measures to ensure a sustainable approach:

• Ingredients will be replicated across the conference’s menus to ensure products can be repurposed for other meals, if necessary, to avoid food waste.
• The cups used to serve drinks will be reusable and it is estimated that this approach will save up to 250,000 single-use cups.
• Suppliers are setting high standards for sustainable food production, from Edinburgh’s Mara Seaweed, which is abundant and entirely sustainable and does not require fertilizer, freshwater, or soil to grow, through to Benzie’s carrots and potatoes who use wind turbines to power their cool storage, biomass to provide heating and actively recycle the water they use.

For the Glasgow summit to be deemed a success, a few things need to go right. First of all, countries need to commit not simply to net-zero targets by 2050, but stronger targets for 2030. Without them, there’s zero chance the world will hold the rise in global temperatures to 2℃.

Major emitters will also need to support developing countries with the finance and technologies to empower them to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change impacts, including severe flooding and prolonged droughts. Let’s be united as there are signs of hope.