The climate conference will bring together delegates from around the world to discuss their plans for reducing emissions and limiting climate change.
Climate scientists say that to reach this goal, the globe would need to rapidly shelve fossil fuels as an energy source, achieving a 45% reduction over 2010 levels by 2030 and hitting net zero in 2050.
The goals of COP26, according to the organizers, are to get countries to agree to plans for ambitious reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030; to work together to support adaptation to climate change that has already occurred; to mobilize developed countries to provide $100 billion in climate finance per year for investment in global net zero, meaning the amount of emissions we produce is no more than the amount removed by the atmosphere.
But eyes are on this year’s conference: As part of the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to provide an update every five years on their highest ambitions for reducing emissions.
According to the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development , developed nations provided a joint total of $78.9 billion in financing in 2018.
Part of the structure underpinning the Paris Agreement is carbon markets: Countries or companies that have a hard time reducing emissions, like airlines, can buy emissions credits from companies that are more capable of reducing emissions.
But it’s very easy for double-dipping to occur: Imagine if a U.S.-based company like Amazon converted its delivery vans to electric-only.
Stephanie received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.