COP26, day 12: “We must put the money on the table” for poor countries, pleads Boris Johnson – archyworldys

Find every day, at the end of the day, the highlights of the 26^e United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) for the climate, which is being held until 12 November in Glasgow (Scotland), as well as insights from journalists from World.

What you must remember :
Negotiations continue

Bitter discussions continued at COP26 on Friday on a draft final declaration calling for accelerating the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, helping poor countries in the face of disasters and limiting fossil fuels. Alok Sharma, the UK president of COP26, said talks will continue beyond the 6 p.m. deadline. He added that he still hoped to come up with a text today, which could then be approved and adopted in the evening.

France will stop funding fossil energy projects abroad

On the last day of the conference, France announces that it will join the agreement ending public funding abroad for certain fossil energy projects at the end of 2022, the government announced on Friday. Last week, in Glasgow, twenty countries, including the United States, joined since by a few others, including Germany, launched this coalition, hailed as a first step in the right direction by climate NGOs.

For France, this declaration concerns both bilateral official development assistance and export financing for fossil energy projects that do not have greenhouse gas emissions mitigation devices, specified the government in a press release. “The fight against climate change means turning the page on fossil fuels”, commented in a tweet the Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili.

Countries urged to limit “inefficient” fossil fuel financing

In a new draft final decision, posted by the British presidency on Friday morning, countries participating in COP26 are invited to limit funding “Ineffective” fossil fuels and accelerate the exit from the use of coal “Without capture system” carbon. This formulation is softened compared to a previous version of the text, which simply called for “Accelerate the exit from coal and fossil fuel financing”.

Carbon capture systems to reduce greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere are being promoted to reduce global warming, but are struggling to convince environmentalists. This question of fossil fuels is particularly contentious, in particular for producing countries or certain countries dependent on these resources for their energy production. These energies, although the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions, are not, for example, mentioned in the Paris Agreement.

“Putting the money on the table for poor countries”

“We must put the money on the table for poor countries” at COP26 in Glasgow, Boris Johnson said, according to the Associated Press. ” People need to see that there is enough money to start, and that there are enough commitments to start. (…). We won’t be able to solve everything at the COP, but at least we can start ”, continued the British Prime Minister.

The issue of financial assistance to the least developed countries to cope with the consequences of climate change is one of the major points delaying the conclusion of an agreement at the climate conference, while the rich countries have still not kept. their pledge of 100 billion in annual aid.

To help vulnerable nations cope with increasing droughts, floods or heat waves linked to climate change, the billions of dollars put on the table at COP26 will not be enough. Trillions of dollars will be needed, according to a draft report by the UN climate experts (IPCC), to be published in early 2022, obtained by Agence France-Presse.

According to the draft report, by 2050, the financing needed for adaptation could thus reach 1 trillion dollars per year, considering certain emission scenarios. In a + 2 ° C world, adaptation costs for Africa alone could increase by “Tens of billions” every year.

The statement of the day:

“Don’t call them donor countries. They are polluters! They owe this money. “

Saleemul Huq, Bangladeshi researcher specializing in climate issues.

Picture of the day:

Scotland’s National Park burns as leaders flew in for COP26 in Glasgow. Read more here => https://t.co/igZxIsJLdD… https://t.co/hOIeP7EnyZ

– ReviveCoalition (@REVIVE)

As Scotland hosts COP26, game reserve owners are burning heather moorland to increase the number of grouse that can be shot by hunters. The process frees the carbon stored in these peatland areas.

Around the world :

Arctic Siberia recorded exceptional heat in June 2020, with temperatures 5 to 10 ° C above average. This disruption causes floods and fires, which are now part of the summer routine.

Words to understand COP26:

Geoengineering

These are all the techniques that human beings could put in place to act on the planet’s climate in order to fight against climate change. These actions – such as dispersing aerosols in the atmosphere to prevent some of the sun’s rays from warming the planet or “fertilizing” the oceans with iron to improve CO absorption.₂ by phytoplankton – are still only at the experimental stage, for the most advanced. They are the subject of growing interest as greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow. However, this approach is very controversial and requires an in-depth study of the implications, risks and side effects induced. Scientists, who point out that these technologies cannot replace a strong reduction in greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans, call for global governance of geoengineering.

Geoengineering, an inventive … and risky bet

Aware of the acceleration of the current warming and the inability of governments to agree to stem greenhouse gas emissions, some scientists are imagining large-scale intervention techniques on the Earth’s climate. It was in 2006, in the review Climatic Change, that the Nobel laureate in chemistry Paul Crutzen was the first to formally describe such a method of atmospheric geoengineering: to disperse particles in the stratosphere in large quantities, in order to hide part of the solar radiation. And thus “counterbalance” the increase in the greenhouse effect and lower the average temperature of the globe. Since then, scientific publications have multiplied, generally to model the considerable risks induced by these techniques.

Other types of geoengineering have also been explored. In particular those consisting in increasing the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO₂) atmospheric by plankton. Some oceanographers are thus trying, in large-scale experiments, to measure what could be produced – in terms of lowering the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ – the addition of very large quantities of iron in the Southern Ocean. This nutrient could be a factor limiting the development of certain photosynthetic plankton: dispersing iron in surface waters would allow plankton to proliferate, thus pumping out CO₂ surplus. So far no experience has demonstrated the efficiency of the process.

CO capture and geological sequestration₂ are another avenue explored. Less risky, it consists of capturing – at the outlet of a gas or coal power plant – the carbon emitted, then liquefying it and reinjecting it into geological formations (depleted hydrocarbon deposit, etc.). Experimental projects have been set up in several countries, but the high cost of these operations and the availability or tightness of geological reservoirs are limiting factors.

The number :

10%

The great thing about plastic is that it’s recyclable. Finally, some plastics. And then, you have to sort them upstream. And it’s often difficult to recycle it more than once. Finally, only 10% of plastic packaging is recycled in the world. What to do with the 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic that has been produced and then thrown into the trash since the 1950s? Landfills, incineration, decomposition in nature … while the production of plastic is likely to double by 2050, there is still no satisfactory solution to treat it. Made from hydrocarbons, and inexpensive, it is considered the disposable material par excellence.

Solutions for the planet:

Sweater in eucalyptus wood pulp, bamboo fiber underwear, vegetable leather sneakers… fashion brands are increasing the number of innovative material proposals to green our locker rooms. But what are all these new raw materials presented as less harmful to the environment worth? What are the preferred textile fibers to pollute less? Labels are examined with a magnifying glass.

Find all the articles in our special COP26 file here.

The World with AFP

What you must remember :