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The COP26 stakes are high; who will lead the way?
AFP
In a few days’ time, world leaders are meeting at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
World leaders are worried. Young climate activists, who have resigned themselves to a future of cleaning up insurmountable messes, are worried. Vulnerable countries caught in the crosshairs of climate change inaction are worried. There are plenty of worries to go around — about drowning cities, unsalvageable economic collapses and heat so extreme it could induce hyperthermia in our sleep. But who will be the saviour, the one to quell the panic, not with stern words and a sombre face, but with a fist so firm it could inspire planet-wide change? In a few days’ time, world leaders will meet at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow. There, they will have the golden opportunity to pledge real action and maybe even thwart a few doomsday scenarios. COP26 is rightfully under a microscope. Expectations are high, but optimism is subdued.
The United Nations on Monday called for a “dramatic increase in commitments” at COP26 after a report revealed that greenhouse gas concentrations surged in 2020. Speaking with children at a news conference, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged that the summit would be “very, very difficult”, but offered a small vote of confidence: “I think it can be done.” Can it be? That depends on who steps up to the plate. Will the US, previously the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, help the world achieve the 2015 Paris Agreement target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius? Should we look to the UK, one of the host countries of COP26, to set an example? Or will the UAE emerge as an unexpected contender, the champion of change? Though oil and gas exports account for 30 per cent of the national gross domestic product, the UAE has not turned a blind eye to global warming and its consequences. In fact, it has been working for years to confront the problem and become a global climate leader.
Case in point, the UAE was the first country in the Middle East to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement. Just this month, the government announced plans to invest more than $160 billion to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, thus becoming the first Gulf state to make the commitment. Adnoc on Tuesday said that it is set to become the world’s first oil and gas company to completely decarbonise its electric grid at scale. AIM for Climate, a joint initiative between the UAE and US, seeks to strengthen food security and address the global climate crisis. With all these steps and many more, the UAE’s offer to host the COP28 summit in Abu Dhabi in 2023 comes at the right time. This country is widely known for making the impossible possible. The tallest building, the most successful Covid-19 vaccination campaign, the first nation in the Middle East to reach Mars. So, if there’s one country that can inspire planet-wide change and save us from a crisis of crises, isn’t it the UAE?
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