COP26 is going into the second week: There is still a lot to do so that it doesn't stay with the "blah blah"

After the mass protests in Glasgow for more ambition in climate protection, the World Climate Conference starts its second and decisive week.

Numerous ministers and heads of government are traveling to Scotland this Monday to give momentum to the negotiations of the around 200 represented states.

Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze will not join until the end of the week, the SPD politician is involved in the negotiations on a coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP in the federal government.

The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg criticized the conference as “blah blah” and “greenwashing festival of the global north”.

The British President of COP26, Alok Sharma, spoke of “all-round progress” in his interim report at the mid-point of the negotiations.

Everyone agrees that there is still a lot of work ahead of the negotiators before the official end of the conference next Friday.

What has been achieved so far and what still needs to be done in the second week of the conference:

Closing the ambition gap to the 1.5 degree target

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement envisages limiting global warming to well below two degrees, but if possible 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial age.

To this end, the more than 190 contracting states should submit revised national climate protection goals (NDC).

According to the UN, more than 130 countries, including the EU, have now set themselves the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050.

The world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, China, on the other hand, is sticking to its goal of only becoming CO2-neutral by 2060, and has only tightened its goal for 2030 a little.

India announced during COP26 that it was aiming for climate neutrality by 2070.

That would be far too late for the 1.5 degree target.

On the basis of the revised climate targets, however, some experts now consider it possible to limit global warming to below two degrees.

However, all short-, medium- and long-term commitments would actually have to be implemented.

And that is questionable in view of the lack of concrete plans and measures in many cases.

Completion of the rulebook

There is a so-called rule book for the concrete implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

On some points, however, no agreement could be reached at the previous two UN climate conferences.

It is also discussed whether compliance with the national climate targets is checked every five or only every ten years.

When it comes to the rules for transparent reviews, it is debatable whether developing countries have to report in as much detail as industrialized countries and whether they receive support for doing so.

Negotiations continue to be difficult with Article 6 of the rulebook on expanding climate protection measures through the use of global certificate trading. Complex questions arise: If a rich country finances a climate protection project in a developing country, how can you ensure that it is really about additional climate protection and that both countries do not credit each other for the greenhouse gas savings made only once? Can CO2 certificates that were acquired under the Kyoto Protocol before the Paris Agreement continue to be used and thus dilute the agreement?

India and Brazil in particular are resisting strict rules on these points.

"Now that the tough things are going on", the Article 6 negotiations have "stalled", says Anne glasses from the environmental and development organization Germanwatch.

Money for climate protection and adaptation

When it came to finance, it was clear in advance that the industrialized countries would not fulfill their pledge to provide poorer countries with $ 100 billion a year.

The developing countries now want at least a watertight obligation on the part of the industrialized countries to subsequently compensate for the deficits that have accrued since 2020.

There is also a proposal to re-examine the aid provided by the industrialized countries in the coming year.

Developing countries are also calling for progress with financial aid for climate damage that has already occurred.

Involvement of civil society

Participants and observers speak of intensive and concentrated negotiations without major disruptions by individual countries.

However, non-governmental organizations complained that their observers were not allowed into the negotiation rooms at all or only to a limited extent, with reference to the corona restrictions.

Care climate expert Sven Harmeling says that the situation is “not quite as chaotic as it was at the beginning”.

However, the involvement of civil society remains “overall well below previous COPs”.

However, civil society is also making its voice heard with actions outside of the conference rooms, such as the mass protests at the weekend.