Mon, Nov 01, 2021 page14

• What is COP26 and why does it matter? 第26屆聯合國氣候變化大會揭幕

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  COP26 opened yesterday, with more than 120 world leaders gathered in Glasgow, UK. They will depart after a few days, leaving the complex negotiations to their representatives — mainly environment ministers or similarly senior officials. The talks are scheduled to end on Nov. 12.

  For almost three decades, world governments have met nearly every year to forge a global response to the climate emergency. Under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), every country on Earth is treaty-bound to “avoid dangerous climate change” and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally in an equitable way.

  “COP” stands for “conference of the parties” under the UNFCCC, and the annual meetings have swung between fractious and soporific, interspersed with moments of high drama and the occasional triumph (the Paris agreement in 2015) and disaster (Copenhagen in 2009).

  

  Activists symbolically set George Square in Glasgow, Scotland, UK on fire on Oct. 28 with an art installation of faux flames and smoke ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). 在聯合國氣候變化大會（COP26）舉行之前，活動人士用假火焰及煙霧的裝置藝術，象徵性地點燃喬治廣場。十月二十八日攝於英國蘇格蘭格拉斯哥。

  Photo: Reuters 照片：路透

  Why do we need a COP — don’t we already have the Paris agreement? Yes — under the landmark Paris agreement, signed in 2015, nations committed to holding global temperature rises to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while “pursuing efforts” to limit heating to 1.5°C. Those goals are legally binding and enshrined in the treaty.

  To meet those goals, countries also agreed on non-binding national targets to cut — known as “nationally determined contributions,” or NDCs. Everyone knew at Paris that the NDCs were inadequate, so the French built into the accord a “ratchet mechanism” by which countries would have to return to the table every five years with fresh commitments.

  (The Guardian)

  第二十六屆聯合國氣候變化大會於昨日揭幕，世界一百二十多位領導人現正齊聚英國格拉斯哥與會。他們將於數日後離開，後續複雜的談判則交由其代表進行，主要是環境部長或相關的高級官員。會議訂於十一月十二日結束。

  近三十年來，世界各國政府幾乎每年都舉行會議，以制定因應氣候緊急狀態的全球措施。根據一九九二年「聯合國氣候變化綱要公約」（UNFCCC），地球上每個國家都受條約約束，以「避免危險的氣候變化」，且各國應以公平的方式設法減少全球的溫室氣體排放。

  「COP」意為UNFCCC的「締約方會議」。其每年所舉辦的會議，有時劍拔弩張，有時令人昏昏欲睡，偶爾穿插戲劇性的時刻，有時獲致成功（例如二○一五年通過的巴黎協定），有時徹底失敗（如二○○九年在哥本哈根舉行的會議）。

  為什麼我們需要UNFCCC締約方會議——不是已經有巴黎協定了嗎？是的——根據二○一五年所簽署的具有里程碑意義的巴黎協定，各國承諾將全球暖化控制在「遠低於」工業化前水平的攝氏兩度，同時「繼續努力」將暖化限制在攝氏一點五度以內。這些目標具有法律約束力，且已載入條約。

  為了實現這些目標，各國還商定了不具約束力的國家減碳目標—稱為「國家自定貢獻」或NDC。在巴黎商議協定時，大家都知道NDC是不夠的，因此主辦會議的法國在協議中設立了「不倒退機制」，據此，各國必須每五年更新目標，重啟談判。

  （台北時報林俐凱編譯）

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