Earlier this month, the United Nations held its annual climate change conference, known as COP25, in Madrid. The purpose of this annual global conference is to bring together politicians, policymakers and civil servants from around to world to set out global policy on climate change and agree on binding targets for reducing emissions by 2030 and 2050. The COP21 conference held in Paris in 2015 resulted in a landmark agreement between 195 countries from around the world. At COP21, these 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement, which set out a long-term goal to limit the rise in global temperatures to a range between 1.5°C and 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Earlier this month, the United Nations held its annual climate change conference, known as COP25, in Madrid. The purpose of this annual global conference is to bring together politicians, policymakers and civil servants from around to world to set out global policy on climate change and agree on binding targets for reducing emissions by 2030 and 2050.
The COP21 conference held in Paris in 2015 resulted in a landmark agreement between 195 countries from around the world. At COP21, these 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement, which set out a long-term goal to limit the rise in global temperatures to a range between 1.5°C and 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Many environmental groups described the Madrid conference as one of the worst outcomes in 25 years of climate negotiations
The Paris agreement also saw these countries agree to develop detailed targets and mitigation plans to reduce individual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Paris agreement was seen as a major step in the global fight to tackle climate change.
Emissions
Every year since, the United Nations has sought to build on the success in Paris to push countries into doing more to tackle global carbon emissions. However, the COP25 conference held in Madrid this year brought to a halt recent years of progress. The marathon conference in Madrid, which lasted almost two weeks at the start of December, ended in frustration.
Countries eventually reached an agreement to conclude the COP25 talks. The deal expressed the “urgent need” for countries to adopt new commitments to reducing carbon emissions much quicker in order to meet the targets set out in the Paris agreement.
However, this was a compromise deal that fell well short of expectations. Many environmental groups described the Madrid conference as one of the worst outcomes in 25 years of climate negotiations. In particular, nations with large carbon emissions, such as the US, Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, were seen to block progress over the fortnight of talks.
Backwards
With the US set to withdraw from the Paris agreement next year at the behest of Donald Trump, recent progress made on climate change looks to be taking a step backwards.
"Based on the adopted text in Madrid, there is a glimmer of hope that the heart of the Paris agreement is still beating. But its pulse is very weak," said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift, a climate and energy think tank.
Next year’s COP26 conference will be held in Glasgow where the stakes will be extremely high for countries to agree on a comprehensive plan to reduce global emissions. With the US withdrawing from the Paris agreement, the EU should now assume the leadership position to compel countries into action. Likewise, the UK will be expected to take a leadership position in next year’s climate talks as the host country.
However, with the UK formally leaving the EU next year and an intense period of trade negotiations set to commence between both sides in February, one wonders how much energy, time and commitment will be available for COP26 in Glasgow to yield any different result than this year’s conference in Madrid.
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