What we can expect from the next Climate Summit

In her opinion, an extremely important first step would be for the financial commitments made in Paris six years ago to be implemented as soon as possible: "The richest countries have agreed to set up a $100 billion fund to help poor countries reduce their emissions, but to date the questions of when and how this money will be made available have not been clarified.” Jorge Olcina, an expert on climate history and professor at the University of Alicante, agrees with Wockner that "the most important thing about this COP 26 is that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is finally concluded.” It is important that "the mechanism to mitigate gas emissions is finalised. In other words, a clear and universal system for the purchase of emission rights must be established.” And in parallel, "the commitment of rich countries to finance the transition to clean technologies and green energy in the least developed countries must be established". This is the way to ensure that two of the most important commitments made by the international community in Paris are implemented in the short term.

For Greenpeace spokesperson Sam Wockner, "the moment of truth" has arrived. The signatories to the Paris Agreement have taken their time, but now, at the November summit, "without further delay, they must flesh out their final plans to reduce emissions". Wockner reminds us that "world leaders have committed themselves to creating the conditions in the very short term to ensure that the rise in the planet's average temperature does not reach unsustainable levels in the coming decades". This goal is on the official agenda of the summit COP 26, and Wockner expects it to be addressed with utmost rigour.

According to Jacqueline Peel, professor of environmental law at the University of Melbourne, "we need to demand concrete and ambitious agreements from this summit or it will end up being a waste of time — and at this stage time is not something we can afford to waste.” Peel says the world is facing a worrying scenario and "we have not yet managed to take the first step in the right direction. reducing emissions. Ambitious medium-term targets are of little use if we do not ensure that 2022 becomes the first year in recent history when emissions fall, not rise. That would be a tangible, practical and verifiable target in the very short term. Glasgow is, in her view, an opportunity to put paid to all these misgivings and finally take irreversible steps in the right direction. Despite all her concerns, she is still reasonably optimistic. The most positive thing, in her opinion, is the change in the position of the United States. This means that "the leading economic power is rejoining the global consensus and will present reasonable and ambitious emission reduction targets in Glasgow". Reasonable and ambitious. These should be two of the primary ingredients in the recipe for global transformation that is currently being prepared in Scotland.

For Olcina, reducing emissions in time is a goal that we can by no means take for granted. Therefore, we need to activate as soon as possible an alternative emergency and rescue programme, a Plan B that will allow us to survive the coming changes with dignity: "It is very important that countries, regions and cities make progrss in their climate change adaptation policies. COP26 should produce a working document - a guide for urban environments on how to adapt to the new situation. This is also essential". This goal is in line with the philosophy of the Paris Agreement, which speaks of measures for “mitigation, adaptation and resilience" to address the challenge of global warming.

In the business world, the companies most committed to private decarbonisation plans will be paying very close attention to what is agreed in Glasgow. They expect the summit to set binding emissions reduction targets for all sectors, according to Monitor Deloitte's report "A Sustainable Energy Model for Spain in 2050". This also means that we must promote the widespread use of environmentally friendly technologies and, at the same time, introduce a CO2-related tax that sends a clear economic signal: The gradual transition to a green economic model is an absolute priority and cannot be put off any longer In short, it is a matter of ensuring that we recognise the efforts being made by companies which take their social and environmental responsibilities more seriously, and seeing to it that they do not suffer competitive disadvantages in the short term.

Olcina believes that the environmental emergency must be addressed without too much drama, but with a clear awareness of what the real situation is and how much is at stake: "Today, the outlook in terms of global warming is still very bleak.” Despite the agreements reached, far more greenhouse gases are still being emitted than the planet can afford: "This year we will again set a new global emissions record. Seventy-five per cent of the world's energy consumption is still based on fossil fuels. We are not succeeding in breaking this trend." Wasting this decade would be an irreparable disaster, this academic says, "because the effects of global warming will be very intense and accelerate over time".

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There is a real sense of urgency. The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is making a historic demand on the international community: to take decisive and decisive steps against global warming before it is too late. The roadmap is set by the global agreement adopted six years ago in Paris at COP21. A commitment that replaced the Kyoto Protocol and proposed, almost for the first time, clear, concrete measures with legal guarantees to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the planet's average temperature from rising by the end of the 21st century.

Part of what was agreed in Paris (and ratified a few months later in New York by a total of 195 countries) still needs to be implemented and developed. Events like COP25, held in Madrid in December 2019, will now be remembered as missed opportunities, events where vested interests prevented truly meaningful progress. Experts hope that the summit, to be held in Glasgow on 31 October, will be a turning point that will allow us to get back on track.

Public figures such as Greta Thunberg, for example, are hopeful yet sceptical about the conference in the Scottish capital. The Swedish activist, who now sings and dances to the rhythm of Rick Astley, displaying a hitherto unseen sense of humour and social skills, has said that "all climate summits are crucial to the success of the Paris Agreement", but that the success or failure of summits in the coming years will largely depend on "whether public opinion can continue to put pressure on their governments". With or without pressure, what is certain is that the leaders who will meet on 31 October will have a broad agenda of pending issues on the table that need to be resolved as soon as possible.