26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties

(COP26)

College of Health Sciences

Environmental and Public Health Department

Spring Semester/ Academic Year 2021-2022

Course Title: Global Issues in Environmental Health – HSC315

Instructors’ Name: Dr. Musthafa Mavukkandy

Student’s Names Students’ ID Contribution

Rawan Mohamed 1075463  Introduction

 Overview and goals of COP 26.
Saydah Altabia 1078157  UAEs’ initiatives
 Conclusion
Leen Nasser 1075797  Critical outcomes of COP26
 Recommendations

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3
1.1 Identification of the nature and impact of the problem3

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 1.2 Background & significance of COP 3
1.3 The aim of the study…………………………………….………………….….….………….3
2. Background / Discussion 4
2.1 Overview and goals of COP 26. 4
2.2 The critical outcomes of this meeting 5
2.3 The UAE's initiatives corresponding to the COP 26……………………………………….6
2.3.1 The Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative…………………………………….…………..6
2.3.2 The AIM for Climate Initiative …………………………………..……………..………6

2.3.3 The Energy Transition Accelerator Financing Platform Initiative …..…….……..7

3.Recommendations & Limitations……………………….……………………….………...…..7
4.Conclusion …………………………………………………………………..……………..……..8
5. References…………………………………………………………………………………….9, 10

1. Introduction:

1.1 Identification of the nature and impact of the problem:

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The world is facing many environmental issues that threaten both the environment and
human health. Among the most important environmental issue that is considered an
environmental challenge to this day is climate change, which is a long-term change in the
weather pattern associated with many environmental and health problems (United Nation,
n.d.). In 1995, the rate of carbon dioxide, one of the contributing factors to climate change,
was 360 parts per million, which is very high and is gradually increasing over time. However,
if this rate reaches 450 parts per million, which is the carbon dioxide threshold, it will lead to
serious environmental degradation, leading to an average rise in global temperature of two
degrees Celsius (SPICe, 2021).
Given the horrific impact that the world has experienced over the past years as a result of
climate change such as fires, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels, countries need to find
solutions to reduce these impacts. In consequence, the conference of parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was established in 1995, and it is a series
of UN conferences that works to discuss the climate change crisis and its global impacts with
the aim of reducing this problem and its adverse effects (UN Foundation, 2015).

1.2 Background & significance of COP:

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an
international treaty that recognizes the impacts of climate change and conducts negotiations
on climate change. This treaty was adopted and brought into force in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro
at the Earth Summit. Moreover, 196 countries have ratified this treaty. As for the Conference
of the Parties (COP), it is the supreme decision-making body on climate change (Norton Rose
Fulbright, 2018).
Since 1995, the Conference of the Parties has been held every year to expand the decisions
and strategies previously taken and build on them to improve them (Norton Rose Fulbright,
2018). One of the most important agreements that emerged from the conference of the parties
is the Paris Agreement, which was reached at the twenty-first session (COP21), as it is the
first agreement that presented the world with the first global agreement on climate change.
The Paris Agreement will provide the structure and framework for the upcoming COPs. This
Twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties is the deadline for Parties to submit their 2030
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) mentioned in the Paris Agreement (Hobert &
Toth, 2015).

1.3 The aim of the study:

This paper aims to shed light on the main goals of COP 26 and the critical outcomes of this
conference. Moreover, the UAE's initiatives corresponding to the COP 26 and some
recommendations toward COP26 will be highlighted as well.

2 Discussion/ Background:
2.1 Overview and goals of COP 26:

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COP 26 is the twenty-sixth global summit of the Conference of the Parties on climate change
that was supposed to be held in November 2020, but due to the pandemic conditions, it was
postponed and being held in November 2021 in Britain in Glasgow. COP26 is a conference
that has been held for two weeks, where many countries come together for discussions about
their commitments and plans related to climate change. The COP 26 included approximately
120 leaders from around the world, 40,000 participants, including 22,274 party delegates,
3,886 media professionals, and 14,124 observers, which indicates the importance of this
global event (United Nations, n.d.).
Additionally, according to Hobert & Toth (2015), this twenty-sixth conference was one of the
most important conferences that took place, given that climate change was at the forefront
and priority of global issues to the extent that the Secretary-General of the United Nations
launched the “code red for humanity” on the latest report published by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change. Moreover, despite the continuous attempts and efforts to reduce
the effects of climate change, the developing countries are very far from the climate goal that
must be reached to live in a healthy environment. However, COP26 laid a new foundation for
enhancing the implementation of the Paris Agreement by developing plans that enhance
sustainability and reduce carbon rates globally. The Conference of the Parties 26 included
four main goals:
1. Keeping global warming below 1.5°C to ensure net zero and carbon neutrality by mid-
Century was the most important goal of COP26. In addition, this target was based on
Article 2 of the Paris Agreement where parties were required to submit their nationally
determined contributions (NCDs) for 2030 to reduce global warming (Corrs Chambers
Westgarth, 2021).

2. Adaptation to protect natural habitats and communities threatened by climate change was
the second goal of COP26. As temperatures rise due to climate change and global
warming, communities and natural habitats are negatively affected. Therefore, the
meeting focused on the importance of assisting climate-affected countries, developing
national adaptation plans, and establishing infrastructure, warning systems, and defences
to avoid environmental and human losses (UNCCC, 2021).

3. Climate finance mobilization (about $100,000,000,000 per year) is crucial to manage the
consequences of climate change. According to Corrs Chambers Westgarth (2021) in order
to achieve this goal, countries that participated in COP 15 in 2009 agreed to commit to
raising at least $100 billion each year starting in 2020 to support developing countries and
ensure that the climate transition is just. However, this goal has not yet been achieved.
Therefore, international financial institutions should lend a helping hand for both private
and government sectors to achieve a global net zero.

4. Working together to achieve carbon neutrality to reduce climate change is the last goal for
COP26. All parties and countries must work together to overcome the challenge of
climate change, and this can be done via ensuring that all the goals and objectives are met
by establishing the “Paris Rulebook” which will be commented on to determine the
logistics and rules necessary to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement (UNCCC,
2021).

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2.2 The critical outcomes of this meeting:
To critically analyse and understand the urgency and important outcomes that will emerge
from this meeting, it is necessary to look back on previous meetings, or in other words
previous COP to have a general idea of what has been planned prior to the latest conference.
In 2015, COP21 which is the 21 st UN climate change annual conference was held in Paris.
COP 21 is one of the significant events in the history of COP meetings because in that
conference every country present agreed to cooperate together to limit global warming and
try to get it 1.5 degrees (UN Climate Change Conference, 2022). This resulted in the Paris
agreement being made and the NDC’s which stands for National Determined Contributions.
It is a non-binding national plan under the Paris agreement where countries agreed to present
plans on how much of their emissions will they reduce and cut. This one major objective that
was agreed on in COP21, members also promised to get back every 5 years to revaluate and
set new plans and have progress. Fast forward to 6 years later which is the COP26 in 2021, it
was delayed 1 year due to the pandemic, where they regrouped to update the plans to reduce
the emissions as mentioned previously.
Nevertheless, as the foundation of the previous COPs has been stated, it is easier to analyse
and understand the outcomes of COP26. There were 2 main highlighted outcomes that came
about from the meeting (Carver,2022):
1. Signing of the Glasgow Climate pact: This pact was agreed upon on November 13, and it
is a pact that contains set measures and agreements, or resolutions based on the Paris
agreement (UK, parliament, 2022).

2. Agreeing on the Paris rulebook: As mentioned above, the Paris Agreement was an
important document that would be considered years after its launch. At the COP26
meeting, one of the outcomes was securing all agreements between all signatures
included in the agreement and setting a rulebook to proceed with. The rulebook had three
objectives set which were: a better and more transparent emissions reporting
methodology, common timelines for achieving emissions reduction targets, and methods
or standards for international carbon markets (UK, Parliament, 2022).

There were other outcomes agreed on such as promises made by countries on the topics of car
emissions, forests, methane, and private finances. Furthermore, another outcome that was a
result of the meeting of COP26 is that they created a Global Coal to Clean Energy Transition
Statement where 46 countries agreed to start to transition away from unabated coal power
generation. They agreed that by 2030 this commitment should be fulfilled, and by 2040 a
global transition will occur (Grisby et al., 2021). However, the two main significant outcomes
that were a result of the COP26 meeting they were the Glasgow pact and the Paris rulebook.

2.3 The UAE's initiatives corresponding to the COP 26:

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The COP26 in Glasgow witnessed several major climate partnership announcements by the
UAE, highlighting the country's plan to drive economic growth via climate action. Therefore,
the United Arab Emirates was chosen by the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change to host the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2023. The
UAE was chosen to host the COP28 in recognition of its fifteen years of investments and
commitment towards the low-carbon transition. The UAE was the very first country in the
middle east to ratify the Paris Agreement and cooperate in reducing carbon emissions through
its nationally decided contribution. As part of the country’s climate goals and economic
growth strategy, it was also a pioneer in establishing and implementing the region's first
renewable energy and biodiversity protection targets (MOFAIC 2021) (Ramu 2021). In
addition, the UAE has also launched several initiatives to mitigate climate change including:
2.3.1 The Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative:
Prior COP26, the UAE launched the Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative, which seeks to
achieve zero emissions by 2050, making the UAE the first OPEC and Arab country to do so.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment will lead and coordinate the initiative, in
addition to ensuring national cooperation to achieve this goal. Stakeholders in fundamental
sectors such as transportation, agriculture, environment, economy, infrastructure, waste,
industry, and energy will update related policies, plans, strategies, as well as implement
projects and initiatives in order to achieve the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050 in
accordance with their needs and growth requirements. Federal and municipal governments
will be in charge of conducting extensive investigations and formulating strategies to
implement the steps required to cut emissions while also maintaining economic growth based
on sustainable principles. The announcement of Net Zero 2050 encouraged to set off action
across the region, demonstrating that climate action will boost the competitiveness of existing
industries while also defining the next stage of the UAE’s national development, creating
new skills, jobs, and knowledge (UAE Net Zero 2050, 2021).
2.3.2 The AIM for Climate Initiative:
The agriculture sector is very vulnerable to climate change and accounts for over a quarter of
GHGs emissions. Thus, in corresponding to the COP26 the UAE in partnership with the US
announced the Agricultural Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, a new initiative to drive
transformative and revolutionary climate action in the agriculture sector, with the goal of
increasing investments in innovation and science to guarantee that the industry helps to solve
the climate issue by 2050. The initiative intends to assist the agriculture industry in meeting
the Paris Agreement's objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-
industrial levels. AIM for Climate includes supporters from more than 30 countries across six
continents, including the latest additions of the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, and Canada.
The 30+ countries in the initiative have mobilized $4 billion in additional investment to
improve climate resilience, with the UAE contributing $1 billion. This initiative aims to bring
participants together and encourage much-needed investment in the innovation of climate-
smart agriculture and food system, which will tackle global hunger concerns while increasing
long-term economic growth. Investment in climate-smart agriculture innovation is also vital
to tackle the climate challenge. Innovation can help cut emissions, feed the world's rising

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population, and assist farmers and ranchers in mitigating and adapting to climate change
(Haine 2021) (Ramu 2021) (MOFAIC 2021).
2.3.3 The Energy Transition Accelerator Financing Platform Initiative:
On November3, 2021, the UAE and IRENA established the Energy Transition Accelerator
Financing platform, a one billion dollars global climate finance facility to assist renewable
energy projects in developing countries. The UAE was ETAF's first partner, giving $400
million, bringing the UAE's total renewable energy aid to more than 1.5 billion dollars. The
UAE sees development aid and climate action as significant economic growth drivers, ETAF
is the type of initiative that blends partnership, policy, and funding to produce tangible
results. Building on the country's commitment to the development of energy transition,
ADNOC declared a major step toward decarbonizing its operations. Following an agreement
signed with Emirates Water and Electricity Company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(ADNOC) would obtain up to 100% of its grid electricity from local solar and nuclear energy
beginning in January 2022, supporting the UAE Net Zero Initiative. As a result of this
foresight, the country now has three of the world's biggest and cost-effective solar plants,
such as Noor Abu Dhabi, the world's biggest stand-alone solar plant, located in Sweihan, with
almost 3.2 million solar panels and generating 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, which lead to
carbon footprint reduction of one million metric tons per year, almost equivalent to removing
200,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road (Ramu 2021).

3. Recommendations & Limitations:

Some general recommendations or suggestions that could be positively effective for this topic
could include:
 More public speaking about climate change should be done during the COP meetings
which would be aimed towards raising awareness among individuals about how critical
and crucial this worldwide issue is. This could be impactful since people are still
underestimating climate change and global warning.

 Encouraging countries participating in COP meetings to switch to sustainable energy

sources or green energy gradually to slow down the emissions coming from fossil fuels.

 The UN as an organization has to create a donation site for people interested in helping
the climate change and cop movements to donate funds so it can support the shift to green
energy.

 The COP conference’s officials have to urge communities to switch to electric cars which
will not produce emissions, where it could result in a global reduction of GHG.

Even though these suggestions could be done by good effort and consistency, they could be
challenging to apply. For instance, members in the meeting could argue that sustainable
energy sources are very expensive and cannot be a reliable substitute for fossil fuels.
Moreover, it might be hard for the committee to arrange public speaking seminars that could
reach the targeted audience.

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The COP organization is doing it is best to report everything to the media and the public so
we can be informed, but it is unrealistic for every detail of the meeting to be documented and
published. That is why one limitation of this paper could be that research could not be enough
to be 100% accurate regarding the intricate details of the meeting. To be very precise it would
require a longer period to research and watch videos/documentaries to understand the whole
scope of the meeting. Another limitation regarding this study is the word limit set for this
paper could make the paper lack just some other details that would take more words to
express.

4. Conclusion:
As previously stated, climate change is one of the most critical environmental concerns,
emphasizing the need for systemic change. Therefore, the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change was created to address the issue of climate change and its
harmful implications, as well as ensuring that the present and future generations have a
healthier plant. The UNFCCC has established a number of agreements and initiatives since its
foundation, including the Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, the Green Climate Fund, and
many more. Furthermore, the key outcomes of the most recent COP26 conference were the
Glasgow Climate pact and agreeing the Paris rulebook. The UAE was a key figure in this
conference, as it presented many initiatives in solidarity with global efforts to mitigate
climate change including, Aim for Climate, Net Zero 2050, and the Energy Transition
Accelerator Financing Platform. Thus, the UAE was selected to host the 28th COP
conference in 2023. However, as it was recommended in this paper to encourage more public
speaking and awareness about climate change, the UAE made a remarkable gesture by
sending UAE youth to COP26 as part of the Emirates Youth Climate Strategy, where they
were an important component of the UAE's representation, organizing programs and holding
a booth where other delegates and members could learn more about the UAE's commitment
to accelerate climate action locally and internationally. The aim of this gesture is to increase
awareness about climate change and promote young engagement in decision-making and
climate action.

5. References:
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