COP26: Deepening chasms between reality and expectations
As the world's biggest conference on climate change drew to an end last month in Glasgow, we cannot but help look back at what was said and heard. For Bangladesh and all other climate vulnerable countries, COP26 carried a lot of significance, keeping in mind its national and regional interests. Over the past decades, Bangladesh's tryst with extreme climatic events have continued to increase in terms of intensity and frequency, proven by the regular experiences of floods, cyclones, storm-surges, and droughts. Moreover, the recently published sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sent out a clarion call for the world, citing that "tipping points" in the form of consequences of climate change, such as melting ice sheets, rising seas, loss of species, and acidic oceans, will be irreversible. The findings of the report are far from hope-inducing, and are being considered as a stern warning for global leaders who need to take meaningful actions to keep global temperatures from rising well below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.