Neve Gordon-Farleigh
“If Glasgow fails, then the whole thing fails” Boris Johnson’s stark reminder of what’s on stake at COP26, was the display at the G20 that signified climate change is no laughing matter.
The usual jokes of Boris Johnson’s speeches were left behind this weekend, as the PM embarked on the G20 in Rome, to lay out the importance of the COP26 summit.
G20 was an opportunity to bring together leaders from the major 20 economies, across the globe. However, summit’s and conferences like these are an opportunity to pick apart the politics, but also look closely at relationships. And this summit was no different.
Net Zero and The Paris Agreement
Member countries of the G20 make up around 80% of the world’s emissions, with China and the US the biggest polluters. One of the biggest items on the agenda has been for countries to pledge to be net zero by 2050, with some countries needing to drastically reduce their emissions.
Net zero relates to an equal balance between the greenhouse gases we are producing, and those being removed from the atmosphere. As it stands, the UK currently only accounts for 1% of emissions– a statistic the Prime Minister is particularly proud of.
This pledge though is significant after leaders signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, which aims to cut emissions and keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius; ideally at 1.5 C.
However, although some are agreed on the 2050 target, other’s aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet. China believes that their peak emissions will be in 2030, refusing to pledge the same net zero target as other countries. Although, China aren’t the only ones, as in total, only twelve G20 countries have been able to commit to the 2050 target.
Final Speech
In his final speech, speaking in Rome, the Prime Minister acknowledged how “we’re already seeing firsthand the devastation of climate change causes”. In July when Alok Sharma hosted delegates ahead of COP26, flash flooding was experienced in London, and extreme weather caused travel disruptions for those on their way to COP this previous weekend- both poignant reminders of the effects of climate change we’re currently witnessing.
He spoke on the efforts of other G20 countries and the failed commitments including the “$100 billion a year to support developing countries to grow in a clean and sustainable way”, which make the importance of progress even more apparent.
One area of importance is the continued effort to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, he said: “If Glasgow fails, then the whole thing fails. The Paris Agreement will have crumpled at the first reckoning. The world’s only mechanism, viable mechanism, for dealing with climate change will be holed beneath the water line”.
The full speech can be viewed here
His diminishing optimism was questioned by journalists after seeming to still believe a “6 out of 10” chance, when he was interviewed on Saturday morning as the sun rose over the Colosseum.
Interviewed by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he said:
“The whole of humanity, is in the ring. And the foes of humanity are apathy and political indifference and lack of will and people’s excessive caution about what they can achieve. Those are the foes that we all collectively face. And actually, I think that we can still do it. I think there is a chance, if everybody puts their minds to it, that we can get an agreement that will allow us to restrain the growth in temperatures.”
Although the pledges and promises were not as inline as the Prime Minister may have hoped, the next two weeks are an opportunity for leaders, delegates and representatives to come together and really make an impact.
Featured image courtesy of David Köhler on Unsplash. No changes or alterations were made to this image. Image license can be found here.
Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Neve is a 21 year old freelance journalist, and our Head Current Affairs and Instagram Editor for Empoword Journalism. She specialises in social media journalism and runs the Journo Resources Tik Tok page. You can find her on Twitter @Neve_GF.