Good COP, bad COP: What does COP26 mean for development?
The 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations climate change convention begins this week in Glasgow. What is at stake for international development cooperation, and what can we hope to achieve?
Climate change is pivotal to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It cuts across all Sustainable Development Goals, threatening to cast millions back into extreme poverty, disrupt food production, increase water-borne and vector-borne diseases, and lead to mass migration.
With less than a decade to go to achieve the SDGs, and with the world grossly off-track to meet the 1.5°C climate change target, the stakes are high. Pressure is mounting for wealthy states to up their ambitions on climate change mitigation and to fulfil their commitments to provide $100 billion per year in financing support for climate actions in developing countries.
With many low- and middle-income countries hit by extreme climate related hazards including floods, droughts, and tropical cyclones on top of the Covid-19 pandemic, pressure is also mounting to address the critical issue of liability and compensation for loss and damage.
Reasons for scepticism abound. The event comes during troubled times. Suffering economies make politicians reluctant to take action on climate issues. Trust between developing and developed countries is low after the selfish behaviour of rich countries during the pandemic.
COP26 is a last-ditch chance that must not be missed to rebuild trust, ratchet up ambitions on climate change action, and deliver on our promise to leave no one behind.
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