From November 6th to November 20th, tens of thousands of people, including government officials from all over the world came to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for the 27th annual Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27). The COP events are annual conferences that have brought leaders together from nearly every country to discuss climate change since 1992. The purpose of these conferences is to come to a global consensus on how to tackle climate change and strategize ways that the discussed solutions can be put into practice. They are also used as a space for countries that are enduring the brunt of climate change to express the need for financial support to combat it and adapt to it properly. Some topics that were examined in the last few weeks include the discussion of maintaining global temperatures under 1.5℃ higher than pre-industrial times, ways to cut emissions by 30% by 2030 (a goal implemented during COP26), the adaptation to climate change and “loss and damage” funds.
In 2015 during COP21, the Paris Climate Accords, the first international climate agreement, was established. This agreement established a global commitment to keeping global warming below 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels, and ideally limit the warming to 1.5 °C (2.7°F). Currently, we are at global temperatures of about 1°C warming. The 1.5 °C is a major threshold, and if temperatures rise that high, we will see a higher quality and quantity of droughts, famines, heatwaves, hurricanes, floods and more. Additionally, above 1.5 °C warmings, it is expected that between 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs will be destroyed, and vast volumes of ice sitting on Greenland and Antarctica will melt causing a drastic rise in sea levels. There will be a decrease in clean water availability, loss of species and their habitats, acidification of oceans due to greater concentrations of carbon dioxide, and increased risk of illness, diseases and mortality. Although this plan was created seven years ago, there has been insufficient action and implementation of practices to ensure 1.5 °C warming is not a concern. At COP27, using the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, scientists, politicians and activists discussed feasible solutions and adaptation plans for the future. Unfortunately, it seems that COP27 was just another greenwashing event, an event that spends more time and money on claiming to be green rather than implementing practices that will minimize negative environmental impacts. This was Greta Thunberg’s concern and a key reason why she did not attend the conference.
Conversations of cutting global emissions have been had for years now, but is it all talk? Methane alone is responsible for 30% of global warming and can warm the atmosphere 30 times faster than carbon dioxide. Because of this, during COP26, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union created the Global Methane Pledge. By joining the pledge, countries “contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.” More than 130 countries have now signed the pledge, “making it the largest display of ambition ever to reduce methane emissions.” But 2030 is seven years away. With countries that have just recently decided to join the pledge and countries that have yet to do so, is cutting methane emissions by one-third achievable?
Luckily, Brazil and the U.S. announced vital contributions to reaching this goal. Brazil announced its commitment to zero deforestation by 2030. Because trees store carbon dioxide, when we cut down forests, massive amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere. With less deforestation, less methane will be produced and released into the atmosphere. On Friday, November 11, Biden announced his commitment to lowering methane emissions by disclosing a tax on methane leakages. This tax also requires wells of all sizes to be checked for leaks. Combined with rules already in place, it is expected that more than 80% of the U.S.’s energy waste, about 36 million tons of carbon emissions, will now be prevented from entering the atmosphere. In addition to this EPA rule, a law approved by Congress in August “includes a methane emissions reduction program that would impose a fee on energy producers that exceed a certain level of methane emissions.” The fee is expected to rise to $1,500 per metric ton of methane and is the first federal government imposed fee, or tax, on greenhouse gas emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act “also includes $1.5 billion in grants and other spending to help operators and local communities improve monitoring and data collection for methane emissions, with the goal of finding and repairing natural gas leaks.”
Another one of the topics discussed at COP26 was the reduction, or ‘phase-down’, of coal usage. Leaders at COP27 deliberated over ways to reach this goal, however, a consensus was not reached. With an unclear way to reduce fossil fuel emissions, more technology that removes or prevents fossil fuels from entering the atmosphere, like carbon capture and storage, will be needed now more than ever to not only reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 but to also achieve the international goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Fortunately, countries like the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Australia and some European countries have begun the process of implementing more of this type of technology.
A headliner for COP27 was the discussion of loss and damage funds, which are climate change reparations from wealthier countries. However, it is unclear how much money will be given out and to which countries. In 2009, a commitment to raising $100 billion annually by 2020 to be used for climate adaptation was established. However, many countries were not able to achieve this goal. During COP27, it was agreed that a new way for countries to achieve this goal will be created, and contributors and recipients of the fund will be determined at COP28 in Dubai. In total, the projected cost of adaptation is US $400 billion per year. The IPCC reported that mitigation will cost three to six times more than what has already been pledged. This is extremely distressing because some countries are already bearing the brunt of climate change and in the next year, conditions will only worsen. Many countries cannot afford to wait another year and need these reparations now. With such a high amount of money necessary for fighting and adapting to climate change, countries in need will now receive less money because the countries that are providing these funds will need to keep more for themselves.
I talked with both the Green Dean (Howard Waldman) and the so-called Climate President (Tess McGarvey (VI)) about COP27 and what students can do to combat climate change. In both of my conversations, Waldman and McGarvey said that as New Yorkers who are not currently dealing with the extreme effects of global warming that other countries are, we need to do our part to help communities in need while we still can. Waldman said that it is “not just about responsibility,” but a need to make space at the table for others so a mutual understanding can be reached and action can be carried out. Waldman said that “As long as we’re not that worried about what’s happening to us, but as long as we listen to others around the world, we can do something finally.” Waldman was especially impressed with and admired Greta Thunberg’s absence from COP27 to make space for youth from countries that are most affected by the climate crisis right now. McGarvey shared an initiative she and Co-President Alex Brooks (VI) ran on: a day of mandatory climate learning periods. Inspired by The Bronx Youth Climate Summit, McGarvey and Fieldston’s Secretaries of Sustainability, Caroline Morris (V) and Dream Champell-Aldrich (VI), have been planning the implementation of these periods for April. Throughout the week leading up to the mandatory periods, Fieldston high schoolers will host student-run environment-related workshops, like MAD workshops. On Thursday, April 20, a Bronx-based activist will speak at our assembly about what they have done to help mitigate and adapt to the climate emergency. Then, the rest of the day will be required workshops hosted by organizations whose main purpose is to fight for the environment. The goal for these periods is to make teens more optimistic about their futures and to make sure the Fieldston community knows that the effects of climate change in New York are not so far off: McGarvey and Brooks want to make sure students know “how close [climate justice issues are] to Fieldston,” and “how much it will impact the Bronx community.” McGarvey hopes that throughout and following Climate Week, the Fieldston community will learn more about the climate crisis’ impact on “our extended community.” McGarvey stressed how the planet needs the people who are not as passionate about sustainability and environmentalism to understand that these are universal matters, and how it is imperative that they understand climate change is “everyone’s responsibility, not just the people who care about the environment.” Both Waldman and McGarvey agree that the climate emergency is something that needs to be tackled and that everyone should consider themselves “climate people” because we all need to be doing our part, big or small, to save our planet.
