It is november and COP season is upon us! Some will say that Christmas comes early this year, especially if the outcome of this years COP is progress. Namely progress is the best thing we might be able to hope for this year.
To bring every reader up to speed, here is what you need to know about this years COP - Conference of the parties to the UNCCC - United Nations Climate Change Conference. This year it is hosted in Antalya, Turkey, from the 9th to the 20th of November.
It is 10 years since the world came together in Paris and agreed upon trying to limit the global warming to 1,5 degrees celsius. Now, 10 years later, our current trajectory is headed past the 1,5 degree target. The original goal is however not lost, even though the temperature exceeds 1,5 degrees one year. With the current politics we are steering towards a warming of 2,8 degrees by the end of this century.
According to a new report from the WMO - World Metrological Organisation, is 2026 on the way to become one of the 4th warmest years ever recorded. The global average temperature is 1,47 degrees above pre-industrial level, and sea levels have been record high. It is also expected that the El Niño will increase the extreme weather and heat in 2027.
This is why the main focus of this years COP is to bring the temperature down again, and put the plans that are already decided upon into action. Last years COP failed in producing a roadmap to transition away from non renewable energy sources, and did not even mention oil, coal and gas.
The current COP31 president, Murat Kurum, has therefore emphasised the importance of measures that can be done now, like clean energy, energy efficient buildings and lessen the emissions of methane.
Other questions that will need to be addressed at this COP is who will pay for the climate mitigation. This topic has been an ongoing debate for years, where the global south has wanted historically high emitters like the US, and most European countries to pay proportionally. This also goes for the money countries need to transition to a greener energy.
The link between climate and nature is also being recognised and last year, at COP30 in Brazil, a volunteer roadmap was started to stop deforestation within 2030. This work is especially important for the worlds large tropical forrest, but also for indigenous people and local who live in and of the nature. Deforestation and electrification, is also what Norway will bring to the table this year.
It is not expected that the outcome of COP31 will be a new agreement, rather to make progress on the topics we are already worked on these past years. A new report from NTNU and SINTEF states that many of the solutions already exists. What the world needs to agree upon is investments, the skills and the political instruments to use them fast enough.
This is what COP31 is about this year.
As an added bonus this year, as a close follower of the COP prosess for many years now, I think this year, the UNFCCC is making a good effort to make it easier for the civil society, you and me, to follow what’s happening in the plenary sessions and big announcements being made.
As a fun exercise to leave you with, I see that this year, the UNFCCC is asking us to help combat misinformation about climate change online, and invites anyone who wants to help edit the wikipedia pages on climate change in your own language. “Join a Wikipedia Editathon for COP31: 24 hours, around the world. You only need to join one 2hr long workshop to participate”. This will happen on the 11th of November. Link here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:24hr_editathon_for_COP31
As always, thank you for reading and caring about our one and only home, Earth.
