World leaders are under pressure to outline how they plan to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change at COP26, a global climate change summit taking place in Scotland next week. World leaders have sought to downplay expectations of success in the run-up to the summit, although a position paper of more than 100 developing countries representing half of the world has insisted there can be no more excuses for unfulfilled promises. To have any chance of capping global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the aspirational goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement — the world needs to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions in the next 8 years and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Climate scientists have repeatedly stressed that the best weapon to tackle rising global temperatures is to cut greenhouse gas emissions — fast. Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, is the chief driver of the climate emergency. Five make-or-break issues, which include mitigation, climate finance, carbon pricing, natural solutions, and the phasing out of fossil fuels, are on the table. The twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss cannot be solved without addressing the other. In addition to fossil fuel use, sustainable agriculture, land use, and action on restoring forests and other critical ecosystems are set to be discussed.
