The road to COP26
The next UN Climate Summit, COP26, is scheduled to take place from the 31st October to the 12th November in Glasgow. The ongoing pandemic, which had already caused its one-year postponement, sheds uncertainty on whether the Summit will be physical, virtual or a hybrid event, nonetheless calls for a further postponement has so far been disregarded.
COP26 is a tremendous opportunity to raise the profile of biogas globally. Ministers and policy makers from around the world will meet in Glasgow to renew their commitment to the Paris Agreement targets. However, so far, the COPs have focused on creating a global framework, which means countries will not be discussing practical solutions at the COP but issues such as ambition and monitoring. Nonetheless, organisations such as WBA will have the opportunity to host official side events where the high-level political attendees can learn about the solutions to this global threat.
Competition is fierce. In March, WBA applied for a speaking panel at COP26 and at the end of May, we were notified by the UK Government that our application was disappointingly not successful. The UNFCCC’s application process for official side-events and/or exhibits opened on 29th June and officially closed on Friday 23rd July. With guidance from Niclas Svenningsen from the UNFCCC, we have therefore submitted a new application that focuses on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), on black carbon and methane.
For this latest application, we partnered with the Kenya Climate Change Working Group, which will lead on the issue of black carbon. WBA supported by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) will instead lead on methane. If not recycled through AD, organic wastes release this harmful greenhouse gas directly into the atmosphere as they decompose. AD and biogas are key to tackling methane emissions, which according to the CCAC’s Global Methane Assessment report will need to be reduced by 45% to stay on a safe path to achieving 1.5⁰C.
We expect a response from the UNFCCC in September. Fingers crossed!
