A decade too far? The promise of COP26

November 1, 2021
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COMMENT: I’M with Greta. Climate talk is cheap. There may be a will to change, but the way forward has proved elusive since the historic Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997.
World leaders, scientific experts and environmental activists have converged on Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, dubbed ‘the most important international climate summit in years’.
‘COP’ stands for the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the peak decision-making body on climate change.
The ‘26’ stands for the 26th conference of the parties, usually held annually except last year when COVID hit.
StreetWise attended COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009 when delegates agreed to work towards a new Kyoto Protocol. The goal then was to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020; an equivalent of 3 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. The goal was changed in early 2010 to 17 per cent of 2005 levels by 2020; an equivalent of 2.5 per cent above 1990 levels.
Sadly, it failed to deliver. The meeting ended with a ‘Copenhagen Accord’ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “cannot be everything that everyone hoped for, but it is an essential beginning”.
The Accord failed because it was not legally set in stone, only adding to a decade of despondency over the world’s commitment to reduce emissions by 2020, and beyond.
Greta was six years old when COP15 came and went, the Swedish activist having first heard about climate change in 2011 when she started to question the lack of action by global leaders.
The European Parliament delegation described the Accord as a “huge disappointment”. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told COP15 despite the non-binding agreement, “Technological and economic forces will overtake the political and regulatory efforts of governments. The world’s governments alone cannot make progress. They need everyone working together.”

COP15

Described as the most important climate change conference in 2009 (sound familiar), COP15 was attended by then Australian PM Kevin Rudd and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, who said Australia, “will still go to Copenhagen with an ambitious emissions cut of up to 25 per cent”. StreetWise has contacted Senator Wong for comment.
Mr Rudd at the time described the Accord as, “a significant agreement on climate change action”, but China and Sudan accused him of a climate change con by having failed to commit to Kyoto and pass his controversial emissions trading scheme.
Subway posters on the train journey between the COP15 conference at the Bella Center and StreetWise’s B&B in Kobe depicted older versions of Mr Rudd and US president Barack Obama apologising to the world for their inaction – in 2020.
In Copenhagen, activists braved rain and snow to protest on climate change while more than 5000 police from around Denmark converged on the city where hundreds of protestors were arrested and detained after COP15 opened on December 7. A bomb scare outside the conference the previous day did not help.
This author, WA’s only freelance journalist to attend COP15, was one of thousands of international journalists given accreditation by the UNFCCC Press Office to cover the conference with visiting Murdoch University students who persevered with language, geography and strict deadlines, Ben O’Halloran, Katie Day and Matt Whitby.
The ‘climate team’ over two weeks posted 31 reports published in Australia by News Limited (Sunday Times, PerthNow). The reports are still available at http://copenhagen09conf.blogspot.com, the online blog created to provide WA readers exclusive front-seat coverage of COP15.
The Press Office at Glasgow has provided StreetWise with a weblink for journalists covering events and downloading official documents presented at the two-week conference.
The Glasgow talkfest starts this week, more than 100 political heads of government, scientists and media returning to the drawing board to discuss ways to combat climate change.
Australian PM Scott Morrison will be there, bringing with him targets with no basis in scientific reality.
South Metropolitan Greens MLC Brad Pettitt said: “The Morrison Government response on climate is frustrating and depressing in so many ways. First, they don’t seem to take the science seriously which says that to have a safe climate in which warming is kept close to 1.5 degrees which would mean everyone including Australia, including WA, will need to reduce emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2030.
“Second, we are not doing our fair share and instead a free loading off the rest of the world’s efforts by not reducing our emissions. We have some of the highest emission per person so there’s a strong moral case for us to try harder.
“Finally, in not embracing the necessary low carbon transition Australia and WA especially are missing out on the economic opportunities in front of us. We could and should be on our way to becoming a renewable energy super-power.
“I hope COP26 sees the world embrace targets, action and funding that matches the science. This is the decade that matters.”
Additional climate change reports at www.streetwisemedia.com.au.