By UN Rep Tara Scott, AWC Central Scotland
Wow is an understatement for the buzz you feel at COP26. Delegates from different corners of the world are gathered here in Glasgow, almost in my backyard as Edinburgh is just an hour train ride away. The conference feels as if it is a microcosm comprised of people from different walks of life but filled with the same hope and aspirations.
While I was walking around the COP26 campus today trying to get my bearings, I stopped at the exhibit on the Eden Project which is based in Cornwall but now has locations in different continents. I enjoyed listening to one of Eden’s representatives about its mission of helping everyone to see how all living creatures are connected and all dependent upon a healthy environment of biodiversity, clean air and clean water. Visiting the Eden Project in Cornwall is now on my bucket list.
After this I found the hall containing exhibits from several different countries. There was so much to see that I only saw a small part of it today. The exhibits I did visit gifted me with greater knowledge on how countries are managing the climate crisis we are all facing. In Columbia they are working on their goals of planting 180 million trees and regenerating the coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea. I visited the Bangladesh exhibit as it is truly vulnerable to changes caused by global warming, and I wanted to know more about how the country is coping. I need to return to this exhibit on Wednesday as they will have speakers on that day. The United Arab Emirates had a lovely interactive display. The UAE has a federal law for organic farming, and as it continues to add to its prolific installation of solar panels, it seems capable of reaching its renewable energy target. Denmark is working in collaboration with Vietnam to increase renewable energy in Vietnam. Denmark is sharing its best practices from decades of transitioning to renewable energy with Vietnam. Denmark is providing $8.96 million to the Danish Vietnamese Energy Partnership Program. It gladdened my heart to hear this. I visited Vietnam two and half years ago and have felt a connection to this country and its people since then.
I stopped at the United Nations Climate Change Innovation Hub to learn about OpenEarth, which is based in California. It is focused on addressing the lack of digital climate internet. It is like an open source of data on countries’ emission levels and the work being done to reduce these levels. The pilot program will be explained later this week, and it’s expected that OpenEarth’s integrated and open climate accounting system will be launched by COP27. This presentation was a little more difficult for me to follow, but the gist of it seems to be: with more transparency, there is more accountability.
I spent the last hour of my day at the conference listening to heads of state in a room with a very large screen. President Hamid of Bangladesh spoke of how his country is quite vulnerable to the consequences of global warming. Climate disasters cost Honduras 9.2% of its GDP. It is currently building 5000 new homes for those who have been displaced due to global warming. President Kenyatta of Kenya spoke about increased security threats with global warming. He said people are already competing for limited resources; as global warming worsens, so will security threats. Kenya is taking action to combat global warming through reforestation, promoting green manufacturing and by having Africa’s largest wind farm. President Zelensky of Ukraine stated how catastrophes caused by global warming are a wake-up call, and he mentioned how the flora and fauna of Crimea is under threat as it is now a Russian naval base. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stated that 20% of the energy used in Egypt is renewable. Egypt has also built a new rail network and is creating smart cities. COP27 will be held in Egypt.
On the train back to Edinburgh I reflected upon all of the work being done around the world to help heal the Earth. We cannot be in denial of global warming and its effects, we have to face it, and do what we can as individuals stop it in its tracks.