What is COP26 and what does it mean for the environment?
“Securing a brighter future for our children and future generations requires countries to take urgent action at home and abroad to turn the tide on climate change. It is with ambition, courage and collaboration as we approach the crucial COP summit in the UK that we can seize this moment together, so we can recover cleaner, rebuild greener and restore our planet.” This is the forward by the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on this year’s COP26, otherwise known as “The Conference of Parties”.
This is an annual gathering of world leaders who gather with the sole purpose of discussing climate change and forming the foundation for new legislation to try to create a greener and more eco-friendly world. This year, COP26 (the number relates to the fact that this is the 26th annual meeting) will be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland. It will be the largest international gathering of governmental figures that the UK has ever hoasted.
On this year’s agenda, representatives from around the world will analyse each country’s efforts and determine what improvements must be made for us to achieve our net-zero goals and reverse the damage that we have caused to our planet. The decisions that are made in this historic meeting will be legally binding and must be adhered to and implemented.
It is suspected that the UK will announce further plans for helping its citizens move to renewable domestic heating by replacing their inefficient gas boilers with clean energy Air Source Heat Pumps, a move that is expected to slash 31% of the average households carbon emissions.
As well as this, there is to be an international focus on the worrying shift in dangerous weather conditions across the globe. This includes the increase of forest/wildfires, flooding, drought and rising sea levels.
The medical sector is also due to have its say as there is speculation that an extra 250,000 lives per year across the globe may be lost due to a suspected rise and spread of “tropical diseases” like Malaria as more and more regions of the world become warmer and wetter. This kind of environment is a perfect breeding ground for these types of diseases.
This year, it is hoped that there will also be an emphasis on international cooperation and coordinated projects instead of individual legislation. It has become evident that we must all work closely together to repair the damage that we have done to the environment and that we don’t have long to do it!
We will be following this year’s COP26 very closely and will do our best to provide regular updates and information regarding it.
