COP 25: As Nations negotiate plans to limit global warming to 1.5°C

A new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report has warned that unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year between 2020 and 2030, the world will miss the opportunity to get on track towards the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. It called for collective ambition to attain increase of more […]

A new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report has warned that unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year between 2020 and 2030, the world will miss the opportunity to get on track towards the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.

It called for collective ambition to attain increase of more than fivefold over current levels to deliver the cuts needed over the next decade for the 1.5°C goal.

Presently, 197 countries that are party to the Paris Agreement and various other groups are engaged in continued negotiation for more ambitious plans to limit global warming to 1.5°C, in line with the agreement at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference – COP 25 (short for Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)) with the ‘Time for Action’, taking place in Madrid, Spain.

Hopes are high that nations will rise to act and increase their climate commitments to their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The NDCs are efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it must convey a firm determination to change course, demonstrate that the world is seriously committed to stopping the “war against nature”, and has the political will to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

He said COP25 marks the beginning of a 12-month process to review countries’ ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ and ensure that they are ambitious enough to defeat the climate emergency.

That, to him is a path where more fossil fuels remained where they should be- in the ground – and where “we are on the way to carbon neutrality by 2050. That is the only way to limit global temperature rise to the necessary 1.5 degrees by the end of this century.”

“Millions throughout the world – especially young people – are calling on leaders from all sectors to do more, much more, to address the climate emergency we face.

“They know we need to get on the right path today, not tomorrow. That means important decisions must be made now,” he said.

While noting that the last five years have been the hottest ever recorded, he said the consequences are already being felt in the form of more extreme weather events and associated disasters, from hurricanes to drought to floods to wildfires.

“Three major reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – on land, on the oceans and cryosphere, and on the 1.5 degree Celsius climate goal – each confirm that we are knowingly destroying the very support systems keeping us alive,” he said.

“Either we stop this addiction to coal or all our efforts to tackle climate change will be doomed,” he said.

On his part, the minister of Environment Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar urged Nigeria’s delegates to the convention to actively engage in International Climate Policy Negotiations that would facilitate the realisation of Nigeria’s NDC.

Dr Abubakar said: “Nigeria sees climate change as an opportunity, thus approaching it to help diversify its economy and build resilience towards achieving sustainable development, lifting its people out of poverty and providing greater physical and economic security.”

Nigeria’s participation at this year’s convention, according to the minister in a statement signed by the Director Press, Saghir el Mohammed, would be characterised by its commitment to implementing an all-inclusive natural response to climate change through emission reduction and optimal solution to climate change response.

He said towards realising the objectives of the Paris Agreement, Nigeria issued a Sovereign Green Bond, making it the first African country and fourth globally to achieve this milestone towards financing green projects.

While stressing that Nigeria remained focused in its commitment to meeting its NDC, he said the country has high expectation to support the quick resolution of all outstanding issues pertaining to the Paris Rulebooks and carried over from COP 24.

He said faced with the challenges of increased vulnerability to extreme weather events, Nigeria expects to see to the conclusion of the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism ahead of the updating of its NDC to include additional sectors (water and waste management)