A panoramic image of the Glasgow SEC on the banks of the River Clyde, where UN climate talks are due ... [+]
The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak its havoc, with the latest victim (at the time of writing) being the UN climate talks that were due to be held in Scotland in November, which have been postponed until next year.
The so-called COP26 talks are an important milestone for efforts to tackle climate change because governments have been asked to submit tougher plans to cut emissions and to finalise the rules for the Paris Agreement.
It might seem premature to cancel an event that was not taking place until the end of the year, but the conference in Glasgow was to be the culmination of a year’s diplomatic activity between governments – activity that cannot now take place because of the global lockdown that is currently in place.
There is no guarantee that it will be safe for thousands of delegates – and dozens of government ministers and global leaders – to fly into Scotland for the summit by the end of the year – indeed it could spread a second wave of the virus around the world again if it is not under control.
In addition, Glasgow’s SEC conference centre, a key venue for the talks, is being turned into a field hospital as the nation anticipates a surge in Covid-19 cases, while the Excel centre in London, a back-up venue, has just opened after being turned into a 4,000 bed treatment centre.
UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma, who is president-designate of COP26, said that "the world is currently facing an unprecedented global challenge and countries are rightly focusing their efforts on saving lives and fighting Covid-19. We will continue working tirelessly with our partners to deliver the ambition needed to tackle the climate crisis and I look forward to agreeing a new date for the conference."
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa added: “COVID-19 is the most urgent threat facing humanity today, but we cannot forget that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term.
“Soon, economies will restart. This is a chance for nations to recover better, to include the most vulnerable in those plans, and a chance to shape the 21st century economy in ways that are clean, green, healthy, just, safe and more resilient.”
There are some benefits to a postponement – a rescheduled conference, which some have suggested may be in May 2021, would not have to compete for airtime with the US presidential election, and a new president will be in place and may be more sympathetic to tackling climate change than the current administration. The UK is set to be presiding over the G7 next year, while co-host Italy will host the larger group of G20 nations, allowing them to increase the focus on climate change in major diplomatic forums at the same time.
It may also come hot on the heels of the next report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is due to be released next April and could provide added momentum to the talks. However, this report may be delayed as well as a result of the restrictions that are in place.
Adair Turner, senior fellow at the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and the first chairman of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change , said that the support governments will provide to help their economies emerge from the crisis is an opportunity to speed up the transition to a low-carbon economy. “The pandemic will reorder to an extent the priorities for COP26, as alongside the UN climate process countries will be devising stimulus packages for economies hard-hit by the crisis. Clearly, governments around the world have an opportunity to craft support for a range of sectors, from energy to industry and transport, that promotes the transition to a low-carbon economy that member states are already committed to.
“With low-carbon stimulus as a new priority for COP26, it should be seen as an opportunity to rebuild economies hit by coronavirus in ways that are healthier, more resilient to future shocks and fairer to a wider range of people.”
Christiana Figueres, the former head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change who was a key figure in the negotiations of the Paris Agreement, said that “the science tells us emissions must peak this year if we want to limit warming to 1.5C, and the Paris Agreement set the COP26 summit as the moment when all countries would ramp up their targets in line with the steep emissions decline we need to see in this decisive next decade.
"If governments put health, nature regeneration and climate action at the core of every decision they make in recovering from this pandemic, we can emerge as a stronger and more resilient society, and ensure the COP26 puts us on track to a safer climate future."
Professor Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Change Policy at University College, London, pointed out that “the crisis reminds us of the need to heed scientific warnings and projections, and of the - perhaps unexpected - vulnerability of even the strongest societies. It also shows the scale and speed of response that is possible when societies really face up to such risks.
“Deferring COP26 will offer an opportunity for the world to take stock of the lessons, and also to integrate better with the global Biodiversity summit, to start a new chapter in tackling the threats to the planetary systems on which we all ultimately depend.”
