Demonstrations are expected across the Scottish city to
highlight the disconnect between the glacial pace of emissions reductions and
the climate emergency already swamping countries across the world.
Organisers of the Fridays for Future global strike movement
said they expected large crowds at the planned three-hour protest during COP26
“Youth Day”, which will be attended by high-profile campaigners Greta Thunberg
and Vanessa Nakate.
“This UN Climate Summit, we’re once again seeing world
leaders saying big words and big promises,” said Mitze Joelle Tan, a climate
justice activist from the Philippines.
“We need drastic carbon dioxide emission cuts, reparations from
the Global North to the Global South to use for adaptation and to manage loss
and damages, and we need to put an end to the fossil fuel industry.”
Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer
out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to
between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.
The UN-led process requires countries to commit to
ever-increasing emissions cuts, and enjoins richer, historical emitters to help
developing countries fund their energy transformations and deal with climate
impacts.
Countries issued two additional pledges on Thursday to
reduce their fossil fuel consumption.
Twenty nations including major financiers the United States
and Canada promised to end overseas fossil fuel funding by the end of 2022.
And over 40 countries pledged to phase out coal — the most
polluting fossil fuel — although details were vague and a timeline for doing so
not disclosed.
Thunberg was unimpressed, tweeting: “This is no longer a
climate conference. This is a Global North greenwash festival.”
‘Take responsibility’
Experts say a commitment made during the high-level leaders
summit at the start of COP26 by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions
by at least 30 percent this decade will have a real short-term impact on global
heating.
But environmental groups pointed out that governments,
particularly wealthy polluters, have a habit of failing to live up to their
climate promises.
“On Monday, I stood in front of world leaders in Glasgow and
asked them to open their hearts to the people on the frontlines of the climate
crisis,” said Kenyan activist Elizabeth Wathuti, who addressed the conference’s
opening plenary.
“I asked them to take their historic responsibility
seriously and to take serious action here. So far they haven’t.”
Countries came into COP26 with national climate plans that,
when brought together, puts Earth on course to warm 2.7C this century,
according to the UN.
With just 1.1C of warming so far, communities across the
world are already facing ever more intense fire and drought, displacement and
economic ruin wrought by our heating climate.
“We are tired of fighting against the current ‘normal — the
‘normal’ we have is unviable, unsustainable and not enough,” said Kenyan
activist Kevin Mtai.
“We need to change.”
AFP
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