“A plan is a list of actions arranged in whatever sequence is thought likely to achieve an objective,” remarked John Argenti, an expert on strategic planning.
The words ring true as nations are steadily working to mitigate the harmful consequences of global warming, though much more needs to be done continuously.
Ahead of the Conference of Parties (COP) 29, the annual UN climate meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan in November, it’s time to reassess the nations’ contributions and set priorities for future possibilities of action.
As the world anticipates the policymakers to help keep the world safer from the climate crisis, the primary agenda of the meeting is expected to be to negotiate a new goal for climate finance — a term not fully understood earlier. Hopefully, this will accelerate progress in all spheres.
Journey towards climate action
It all began in 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognised the need for a global response to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.
The Convention aimed to stabilise GHGs to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
After due diligence, the Conference of Parties (COP) was established under the UNFCCC in 1995.
The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany the same year. Ever since, it has convened annually, bringing together representatives from all parties.
Its purpose is to review national communications and emission inventories and assess the parties’ progress in achieving the objectives.
Delegates from 117 nations and 53 observer states attended the first COP meet. One of the central issues discussed was the adequacy of individual country commitments, which mandated a process toward discrete action by nations.
The participants established that the Permanent Secretariat should be in Bonn, Germany.
The COP presidency rotates among the five recognised UN regions — Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, and Western Europe.
From its inception, COP has served as the supreme decision-making body where parties come together to review and advance climate action and combat its effects. It plays a crucial role in shaping the global response to environmental degradation and offers the opportunity to address varied issues.
The states review the implementation of the convention and other legal instruments that the COP adopts and make necessary decisions to promote institutional and administrative arrangements. Its key task is to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by countries.
Road map to pledges
The inaugural COP meeting set the stage for future negotiations and established the Berlin Mandate, which called for stronger commitments from developed countries.
An agreement made in 1995 between signatories to the UNFCCC, the Berlin Mandate established a process that enabled countries to take appropriate action beyond 2000.
In 1997, delegates from over 150 countries signed the Kyoto Protocol, a pact to lower GHGs released into the atmosphere. The landmark accord set legally binding emission reduction targets for developed countries. However, due to a complex ratification process, it was implemented in 2005. Currently, 192 nations are part of the Kyoto Protocol.
It ties developed countries, placing a heavier burden on them under the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities’. That’s because it recognises they are largely responsible for high GHG emissions.
The conference highlighted the urgency of climate measures and paved the way for future consensus.
The result was the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, negotiated in France by 196 countries, covering mitigation, adaptation, and finance.
The Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.
Role and impact
COP meetings are critical junctures where parties negotiate and adopt decisions by developing and implementing the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement.
At these conferences, nations share their progress, challenges, and strategies in combating climate change. They also mobilise financial resources, technology transfer, and capacity-building to support action in developing countries.
However, dealing with fossil fuels and GHGs alone is not enough; cement and plastic must also be tackled on a war footing.
As the world continues to face the impacts of climate change, the COP’s importance in driving collective action and fostering international cooperation must remain paramount.
Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi is Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Emirate of Sharjah
