Energy Efficiency Magazine for COP 26
Glascow 2021
Here we are again. The 26th UNFCCC meeting to forge global consensus for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Expectations are high despite the challenges – geo-politics, Covid-19, vested interests. They should be high. COPs are a moment of global attention, accountability and collective agreement, however understanding the true value of such moments requires looking beyond the negotiated text.
Dan Hamza Goodacare
EDITO
Here we are again. The 26th UNFCCC meeting to forge global consensus for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Expectations are high despite the challenges – geo-politics, Covid-19, vested interests. They should be high. COPs are a moment of global attention, accountability and collective agreement, however understanding the true value of such moments requires looking beyond the negotiated text. Why? Because the ‘near negotiation space’ that governments enter into bi-laterally and in ‘climate clubs’ is hugely powerful, and so are the commitments from non-state actors such as businesses, financiers, cities, states and regions. There are now over 4470 companies and 250 financial institutions in the United Nations’, Race to Zero. Together, the businesses, investors and governments (national and sub- national) committing to net-zero represent over 80% of global GDP, affirming there has never been a stronger and clearer signal of public and private support to address the pollution of our shared climate.
One also needs to look at COPs as more than the negotiations because many of the solutions that we know and need are not a focus of the negotiated text. Take for example, our beloved energy efficiency. How much time will negotiators spend working out how and where energy efficiency can solve this collective challenge? Not much I suspect. Which is why the near negotiations space, with ‘mini deals’ between groups of countries leading the charge or groups of non- state actors pushing the boundaries of ambition, are so important. It is not an ‘either or’ as some commentators suggest. The emergence and success of the COP near negotiation space is a complement to the much-needed rules, accountability and shared vision for all countries – an enabling framework that will continue to evolve, raising the floor of ambition.
Dan Hamza Goodacare