COP Summit 2022: We need to COP on

In the week the UN Secretary General announced that there is no credible pathway to holding the rise in global temperatures to the threshold of 1.5 degrees, we need to COP on to the damage we are doing to the world we live in.

COP 27 kicks off in just a few days’ time. Ahead of its 6 November opening, the UN Secretary of General has issued a serious warning that the clock is fast ticking down on the time we have left to stop the calamitous juggernaut that is climate change.

In an interview with the BBC, Antonio Guterres issued the stark warning that unless world leaders start to prioritise climate action, the world is literally staring into the abyss.

With one of the key players on Team Climate Crisis, the United Kingdom, dramatically bowing out of attending this year’s vital summit, the irony of the fact that it is due to hand over the COP presidency has not been lost on environmental commentators and media alike.

By prioritising domestic commitments above environmental responsibilities, the newly elected British Prime Minister has, unusually for him, displayed less eco-cop on than his woe-begotten predecessor. Even Boris Johnson attended COP 26 in support of (current COP President) Alok Sharma’s attempt to drive unanimous agreement on those actions required to keep global climate targets alive..

As catalysts for action on the biggest issue
currently faced by humanity, COP 27 and similar summits really DO matter.

Reaching NET ZERO is a vitally important goal for all countries signed up to the Paris Accord (COP 21 Paris Agreement, December 2015, during which 196 countries committed to this environmental treaty).

Just how crucial it is that world leaders put on a united global front in terms of taking whatever actions are necessary to achieve Net Zero was reinforced by the bleak forecasts outlines in the UN’s Environment Program (UNEP) most recent report on climate change.

Currently, there is no acceptable plan in place to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the goal set by the above-mentioned 2015 Paris Agreement. Scientists believe that any increase above that figure would have a catastrophic impact on people, animals and nature the world over. The report goes on to warn that commitments made by world leaders at last year’s summit in Glasgow, were totally inadequate.

The UN report underlines just how little progress has been made by participating countries in the twelve months since COP 26.

According to Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of UNEP who headed the team behind the report, “We had our chance to make incremental changes, but that time is over”.
She went on to stress that only a total change in social and economic direction can help us to avoid climate catastrophe.

COP 27 in Egypt

Leaders attending COP 27 in Egypt this month will be told in no uncertain terms that they must dramatically reduce emissions across multiple industries including Energy, Transport, Construction and Manufacturing. They will also be once again advised to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible.

While their spirits may be willing, world leaders have lost focus on their environmental commitments. According to the UN Sec General, Antonio Guterres, the war in Ukraine, Cost of Living crises and rising inflation and interest rates have all served to distract politicians from the most important issue of all - the climate crisis. The UN’s bleak assessment says that new pledges to reduce carbon would see emissions fall by just under 1% by 2030. Scientists say that a reduction by 45% is now required if we are to circumvent catastrophic impacts. According to the study, without an immediate and very dramatic reduction in fossil fuel usage, the agreed threshold of the Paris accord will no longer be attainable.

Notwithstanding this gloomy forecast, the UN’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and former US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said now is not the time to give up on this tough target. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s “The World Tonight”, Mr. Kerry said, “it is absolutely accurate to say that currently, on the current track, no, we will not make it (the 1.5c target) but that’s not to say that if countries stepped up and did more, we couldn’t make it. The reason for doing more is that every tenth of a degree above 1.5c (will result in) trillions of dollars of damage”.

The UNEP report is likely to make for sobering reading for world leaders due to gather at COP 27 in Egypt on 6th November

As of lunchtime 2nd November, British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has u-turned on his decision not to travel to COP 27. The newly elected PM has confirmed he will now attend the summit, citing its importance to economic growth."

To avert an ever-accelerating climate disaster we need to literally COP ON.

We need to change how we behave as a society, how we manage our economy, and how we conduct our business operations.

One course of action which can ensure your business achieves optimum operational efficiencies is to adopt the ESG-focused ISO Standards such as ISO 14001, 50001 and of course, 9001.

ISO 14001 is the Environmental Management System standard, ISO 50001 is the Energy Management System standard, while stalwart ISO 9001, the bedrock of standards, is the Quality Management System standard.

The expert-driven, fact-based requirements of each standard will help your business achieve best in practice waste, water, energy and operational management. For more information on those standards and what related services CG Business Consulting offers its clients, go across to our website on www.cgbusinessconsulting.com

COP 27 runs in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6th to 18th November. For more information on the summit, visit its website.

CG Business Consulting will bring you an update on any targets set, and agreements made by world leaders during COP 27 later in the month.

For more information on Sustainability System Standards, head to CG Business Consulting’s ISO sustainability services or leave an enquiry with our expert.

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