Author: Zukhruf Amjad

The 2020 Deadline

I remember reading articles after the COP in Paris in 2015, where the international community and UNFCCC was praised on all platforms for reaching an agreement that looked like real progress was being made in undoing the wrong that had been done to the environment through human advancement. However, Helen Mountford, the VP of WRI was accurate in saying that “The can-do spirit that birthed the Paris Agreement feels like a distant memory today.”

COP25 in Madrid was focused around the idea of raising ambitions. Yet, the lack of significant progress on reaching a consensus on key issues such as loss and damage and the coveted Article 6 that devises a plan for international carbon markets only highlights the international division and a lack of momentum that threaten all and any effort in reaching the goal set out by scientists. While hopes were high that this COP would be able to make significant progress on these matters, the results leave one wondering if climate action can ever be separated from political agendas and if countries will be able to come to a consensus on a combined effort to combat this inevitable threat.

It was interesting how while 200+ nations coming together at the COP in Madrid, the real effort was being made in Brussels, where most of the EU leaders came together to pledge a net zero carbon footprint by 2050. With the IPCC sharing reports on the ongoing threats to food and water supplies due to changes in climate, and all hands-on-deck situation is necessary to start the process of change. Sadly, however, the governments of some of the major emitters in the world such as USA and Australia still do not believe in the concept of climate change. We really do have a long way to go.

With this COP unable to reach the goals it had set; all eyes are now set on COP26 in Glasgow. 2020 being the final year for the current term of the Kyoto Protocol to end, it would be devastating if the Paris rulebook is not completed in time and the Kyoto regime continues. I learned from some of the side-events I attended on carbon markets that if the CDM and Kyoto credits are allowed to carry on, each country could do nothing for the next 3 years and still meet their NDCs as defined by the Paris Agreement. It is frightening to think what would happen if countries are given that chance, especially with the IPCC reports talking about the need to reduce emissions by 7.4% yearly from 2020 to hit the 1.5-degree mark.

I won’t lie, with outcomes like these, it does kill the buzz of excitement and hope created when I left after week 1 when there was still some hope of reaching consensus on certain matters. The UK presidency really has their work cut out for themselves, especially the newly elected prime minister that will need to set an example for other developed countries to rise together in raised ambition toward tackling what is clearly becoming the biggest global threat of our time.

A Changed Perspective

Well there you have it folks, the week we’d been waiting for throughout the semester finally came and went, in a flash. We made it through all the classes, the change in venue, the search for clients, the struggle with visas (for some of us) and finally, the COP itself. The entire week passed by so quickly, I think this blogpost is a great way to turn back and reflect on what a surreal experience this has been. I was telling my manager from my previous job (that has nothing to do with climate change) about this experience and the excitement in my voice made him comment on how it was a good idea to leave that job and study at Environmental Management at Duke, and I agree with him wholeheartedly.

The opportunity to attend the COP in such a structured manner, with the support of your university and help from Professors and TA’s was a very new and unique concept to whoever asked me how I got there. And while the COP was the highlight of this entire experience, it was made easier for me through the numerous lectures, reading materials, discussions and guest lecturers we were able to have because of Jonathan, Billy, Cai May and Corey. The way the classes have been designed offer a great platform for learning without piling on the pressure of grades, I would always come out of the classes more eager to go back and study up on the information that was shared in the classes. These classes were a major source of why striking up conversation with different people or having a general idea of what was going on was so easy.

However, no number of classes could fully prepare you for the actual COP. 25000+ people passionate about working on climate change huddled together for 2 weeks under one roof is an exciting and humbling experience. The amount of learning that goes on in both the negotiations and side events is insane and sometimes difficult to keep track of. You are in the company of brilliant individuals that have a plethora of knowledge they are willing to share and meeting and talking to these people inspired me to want to do more. The negotiations were intense, and you could sense the importance of every word that went into the text. To think that I was, in my own very small way, part of the conversation that would define an international law to be followed by 180+ countries only makes me want to contribute more and more. I had the opportunity to work with EDF, an organization made of inspiring individuals from whom I learned so much during the past week. I got to meet people from the Ministry of Climate Change from my country which got me excited about the prospects of contributing to this cause after I complete my degree. And, I got to meet brilliants minds from the top organizations like IPCC and World Bank as well as youth organizations that lead community-based changes – all of which opened my eyes to the avenues of change available to me at whatever level I am.

To say the experience was surreal would be an understatement. It has left me with humbleness and gratitude for Duke, the people I got to meet and share the experience with and the various people that made this possible. While it might be a bittersweet goodbye to COP25, I am already looking forward to COP26!

Day 001 in Madrid

2 hours in Madrid and me and Forrest have already carried our heavy bags through the uphill streets of Madrid, the unending stairs of the subway, through all the security at the venue of the COP an even a very fancy mall. Nobody in their right mind would look at us and think we are here to attend a conference that brings together some of the brightest minds around the world to tackle an issue as serious as Climate Change.

This experience, however, only made me think about the thousands of people that are going through a similar journey from across the world to make it all the way to Madrid to play a part in reaching a consensus on such an important issue. From the event volunteers to the non-state actors to the actual delegations, brilliant minds from across the globe gathered in one place with the aim to reach a solution that is the most equitable across the world. People with the ambition to create a positive impact meeting year after year to devise strategies on adaptation, mitigation, finance, MRV e.t.c to slow down the disastrous environmental catastrophes that have started increasing in number over the past few years.

It is interesting to note, however, how a key challenge that the COP25 will look at is that of increasing ambition – because there are still millions of people around the world that need convincing that this problem is real. You can notice from the signs around the venue, each of which follow a connotation of emergency around the area of climate change, how the work has already begun. I look forward to seeing how world leaders and experts take on the challenge of increasing ambitions in the course of the next 5 days and hopefully, learn enough to increase ambitions in my community when I go back home.

 

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