Since 1995, world leaders have met every year to talk about climate. Cop26, which began on Sunday 31 October in Glasgow has seen the participation of 26 leaders of major countries:

  • President Joe Biden, United States;
  • Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, United Kingdom;
  • Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, State of Israel;
  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia;
  • President Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey;
  • President Emmanuel Macron, France;
  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada;
  • Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy;
  • President Ivan Duque, Colombia;
  • Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Colombia;
  • President Guy Parmelin, Switzerland;
  • President Moon Jae-in, South Korea;
  • The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi, current chair of the African Union;
  • President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria;
  • President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana;
  • President Alberto Fernandez,  Argentina.

They met to discuss the new world emergency: the climate changes as a clear sign that in all these years little or nothing has been done. It is, therefore, the twenty-sixth edition of these summits.

The premises with which the Glasgow summit opened are not the best: China and Russia (which alone emit more than 30% of climate-altering gases into the atmosphere) will not physically participate in the negotiations, and in Rome, the G20 members failed to reach an ambitious pre-agreement on the climate emergency. Scientists tell us that the consequences of climate change are becoming worst and worst. Nature itself is demonstrating this through increasingly intense, frequent and alas unexpected disasters. One of the main causes is due to the latest forecast of 2.7 degrees temperature increase by the end of the century. What happened in Sicily with the Storm Medicane (Mediterranean Hurricane) is an example: scientists argued that hurricanes could not originate in the Mediterranean region, however, the climate changed and it happened.

If we are to try to mitigate these events and ensure a long-term – at least liveable – future for the human species, Glasgow can be the right answer.

The problems are clear, but, luckily, so are the solutions. The positive note is that the representatives of governments gathered in Glasgow will not have to equip themselves with a magic wand in search of impossible solutions and actions.

What is asked to the governments present at COP26 is therefore a strong and unanimous will to change the policies.

We need to put a stop to the chapter of our history that began three centuries ago with the Industrial Revolution and start a new era of ecological transition.

At a civil society’s level, there is already ferment and change is already taking place, driven above all by the younger generations. Companies are also modifying their offers in line with the new needs of consumers: traceability of supply chains, compliance with high environmental and social standards, circular practices. In September of this year, a report from the United Nations warned that the Paris Agreement of 2015’s targets were too weak, leaving the planet on pace to warm by almost 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

 

Nowadays, only if all COP member states cut global emissions to net-zero by 2050, we could be able to limit the planet’s warming under 1.5 Celsius and thus with a positive impact on climate change.

However, all of what has been said must become practice first and foremost at an institutional level. Politics must foster the transition, enabling citizens and businesses to make lasting choices for the environment and for the entire human community. We entrust COP26 with the hope of taking charge of these requests. Meanwhile, as a civil society, let us commit ourselves so that, through meeting and dialogue on territories, the ecological transition reaches the consciences of millions of individuals and favours the emergence of new behaviours.

The climate crisis is here and now and it must be not only the COP to take action but everyone is called to make a contribution.