“Mobilising public and private finance flows at scale for mitigation and adaptation” is the central topic of today’s Presidency Programme at COP26.
For decades, industrialized countries have profited from carbon-intensive economic development, which has only exacerbated the effects and speed of climate change. Although their contribution to the problem has been minuscule, SIDS and other developing countries are hit worst by the effects of climate change. This prompts the notion of ‘Climate Justice’ in which the richer and industrialized countries owe developing countries a historic climate debt and have an obligation to pay for the costs of addressing climate change.
Two numbers that could change the world:
$100 billion: That’s how much climate financing rich countries agreed to raise annually by 2020, money that goes toward decarbonization and adaptation efforts in poor countries. But the actual figure only hit $79.6 billion in 2019. It’s unlikely to hit $100 billion before 2023, and economists say even that goal is an order of magnitude below what’s needed.
1.5°C: The world has already warmed up to 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels, nearly the maximum amount agreed on under the Paris Agreement. According to the pre-COP analysis published by the UN on Oct. 26, the world is now on track to warm 2.6 to 2.8°C by 2100 even if countries fulfill their stated commitments, although better than the worst-case scenario in a pre-Paris world.
Financing for climate adaptation and mitigation implies helping SIDS and developing countries build infrastructure and security against the effects of climate change such as building seas walls, hurricane shelters, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by shifting energy production towards sustainable sources.
COP26 will be an opportunity for world leaders to deliver on the promise of climate financing and help the most vulnerable communities and Island regions become more resilient to the effects of climate change.
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TODAY – 10am BST
At this event, we will be hosting a screening of the project’s film, which showcases messages from island youth around the world to COP26. After watching the short film, you will hear directly from several young islanders who have been involved in the project, and participating schools will have the opportunity to ask questions to climate experts. Finally, we will hear from politicians and leaders in response to the messages from island youth.
Pupil, Sgoil an Iochdair – “I am from South Uist, a special island in the Western Isles. It is a very beautiful island. Uist is in trouble, however. With the sea level rising the sand dunes and machair lands are disappearing. The crofts beside the ocean are falling into the sea. It is frightening that the island I have grown up on is being eaten away. Lots of people and animals will lose their homes. Uist is a grassland for many birds and flowers that could not live somewhere else. If the island disappears these species will be in frightful danger. In order to make things better I would like COP26 to make electric cars more accessible. Another idea would be to encourage people to use 10% of their land for trees or wildlife. We still have a long way to go until we can stop climate change.”
Isle of South Uist
South Uist is the second largest island in the Outer Hebrides, west of Scotland. It is home to the biggest community-owned wind farm in Scotland. The population of South Uist is around 1700.
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