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Either We Stop It, Or It Stops Us’: UN Secretary General Sets the Tone in Glasgow

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As world leaders debate the actions needed to make COP26 a success, and industries in Wales increasingly look to develop their plans to decarbonise, one thing is for sure – knowledge and collaboration is key.  

Each day Business News Wales will be summarising highlights from the UN Climate Change Conference, offering insights into the global road to net zero.

Day 1 – Monday 1 November 2021

Despite travel disruptions for delegates and chaotic queues to enter the COP26 secure zone, the first full day of the conference saw world leaders meet to thrash out the next steps that must be taken in the battle against climate change.

In the opening ceremony, Boris Johnson looked to the movies for inspiration, and perhaps unsurprisingly, a British icon – referring to James Bond’s regular challenge to save the world from destruction.

“Bond is strapped to a doomsday device as a red digital clock ticks down remorselessly to a destination that will end human life as we know it,” the PM said.

“We are in the same position as James Bond today. Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.”

“The doomsday device is real,” said Johnson, before imploring the delegates from the world’s most powerful countries to act.

“The longer we fail to act,” he said, “the worse it gets, and the higher the price when we are forced to act.”

A theme that will develop across the conference in coming days, Johnson spoke about the importance of the private sector, which he said has the potential to provide trillions to countries to help climate change adaption and mitigation.

António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, made an impassioned speech, reiterating the vital role of the private sector, and adding action points.

Reflecting growing attention on the promises – and actions –  of the corporate world, Guterres said he planned to create a UN expert group to develop a standard for measuring corporate net zero pledges.

“There is a deficit of credibility and a surplus of confusion over emissions reductions and net zero targets,” he said, “with different meanings and different metrics.”

The UN chief added that while some countries’ commitments were lacking, there were “serious questions” about whether promises from others were “clear and credible”.

But it wasn’t all gloom and doom from the secretary general. “Many have pulled the plug on international financing of coal… The private sector is waking up. The Net-Zero Asset Owners Alliance — the gold standard for credible commitments and transparent targets — is managing $10tn in assets and catalysing change across industries.”

Guterres said countries should report on their plans to address climate change every year, instead of every five years, and ended on a defiant tone, applauding the stance being taken by the a younger generation.

“The climate action army – led by young people – is unstoppable. They are larger. They are louder. And, I assure you, they are not going away. I stand with them.”

In his much anticipated opening speech, US President, Joe Biden, said his administration was working to rebuild trust in the US’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency, after Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement in 2019; the US rejoined with Biden’s presidency.

High energy prices, he said, were a call to action, reinforcing “the urgent need to diversify sources [and] double-down on clean energy development.” Biden spoke of the long-term climate strategy for the United States, and reducing US emissions by 50 to 52% below 2005 levels, by 2030.

Perhaps the world’s greatest educator on climate awareness, Sir David Attenborough, articulate as ever at 95, drove the message home as only he can.

“We are already in trouble, the stability we all depend on is breaking,” the veteran broadcaster and naturalist said, in deeply a moving multimedia presentation,

“This story is one of inequality as well as of instability. Those who’ve done the least to cause this problem are being the hardest hit.” But there is cause for optimism, said Sir David.

“We are after all the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed…we now understand this problem, we know how to stop the number rising, and put it in reverse”.

“We must recapture billions of tonnes of carbon from the air, we must fix our sights on keeping one and half degrees temperature-rise within reach.

Sir David said “a new industrial revolution powered by millions of sustainable innovations is essential, and is indeed already beginning, We will all share in the benefits – affordable clean energy, healthy air, and enough food to sustain us all.

“Nature is a key ally. Wherever we restore the wild, it will recapture carbon and help us bring back balance to our planet. Our motivation should not be fear but hope.”

Having travelled to Glasgow by train on Monday morning, Wales’ First Minister, Mark Drakeford, said his message to the people of Wales was to remember the power of collective action.

“This is crunch time for us all. We’re embarking on a decade of real action in Wales. As we’ve shown with our world-leading recycling rates, doing the small things in our everyday lives really can and does make a difference.

“In Glasgow, at the COP26 conference, we will show that Wales is ready to play its part. I’m also looking forward to using the conference as an opportunity to learn from others.”

DAY 2 on Tuesday at COP26 will continue world leaders’ presentations and include sessions on forests and land-use, infrastructure for resilient island states, and accelerating clean technology innovation. 

Business News Wales