Let's talk about COP27
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This week we’ll talk a little bit about the 27th Conference of Parties or as you might have seen it in the news the COP27. After reading this you’ll hopefully have a better understanding of what is happening in Egypt until the 18th of November and why the outcome of the conference is important. In this newsletter, we’ll go through some of the jargon that is being used in the media about the conference and some of the more likely outcomes that we would expect from it.
Paris Agreement, GHGs, Loss and Damage,
and more
I dislike abbreviations. Not only because the same abbreviation could mean so many things that could lead to misunderstandings, but also because it creates a barrier. Sure for the sake of efficiency, they are tremendously helpful, but the barrier they also create makes it hard for outsiders to be involved in the discussion. And when it comes to climate change I think everyone should be able to participate or at least know what’s happening around them. So let’s discuss some of the jargon that you might have seen these days concerning COP27.
COP27. Even the name is confusing. As mentioned above COP27 is the 27th Conference of the Parties. For the past 3 decades, the UN tries to bring together every country in the world in order to discuss climate change issues. The goal has evolved since climate change has gone from being a secondary issue 30 years ago to a tier-1 priority.
Paris Agreement. For either good or bad reasons everyone has heard of the Paris Agreement. This happened in the 21st Conference of the Parties which was held… you guessed it, in Paris. It is the first time that all of the countries agreed that their goal should be to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celcius and even aim for 1.5 degrees. Why is it important to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celcius? Oh, I’m so glad you asked. I have the answer for you right here.
GHGs. This stands for general Greenhouse Gasses. We are used to talking about our impact in terms of carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions but there are other gasses that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The main contributors other than CO2 include methane gas and nitrous oxide. The greenhouse effect is not inherently bad. Without it, life on earth would be very different (or even non-existent) since the average temperature on the earth's surface would be -18 degrees Celcius [source]. The problem comes with the additional greenhouse gasses human activity has introduced into the atmosphere. The concentration of carbon dioxide has risen from 280 parts per million in 1750 (just before the Industrial Revolution) to 421 parts per million in 2022[source]. That’s a lot!
Loss and damage. One thing that needs to be clear now is that the effects of climate change are already taking place and it is not something that is way down for future generations to face. The term “Loss and damage” refers to the adverse effects of climate change on human societies due to climate change. These effects include more frequent and intense extreme weather events, but also slower events such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, land, and forest degradation, and more [source]. Quantifying those losses and agreeing on who is going to pay for them is going to be a controversial topic.
NDCs. Here we’re talking about nationally determined contributions, the individual plans for each country for the reduction of their emissions. They were first agreed upon in the Paris Agreement in 2015 and they are revised every 5 years.
Just Transition. This is a term that frames the process of transitioning to a greener future and at the same time protects the rights and workplace standards of people around the world. This is especially important for developing countries that are trying to meet their energy demands. Dipti Bhatnagar from Friends of The Earth International in Mozambique stated “It’s not just about the energy source, it’s about the whole energy system – who decides, who benefits, and who profits.”[source]
What’s happening at COP27 then?
I can’t really tell the future (hope that this isn’t a surprise for anyone) but through reading different articles around the web, I wanted to mention a couple of things that will be discussed and hopefully decided by the end of this week at COP27.
Last year, the biggest criticism for the countries that took part in COP26 was that their pledges to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celcius were not enough. They agreed that they should come back next year to strengthen their commitments. This seems unlikely as only a few countries came up with new national plans to reach that goal. While this is nowhere near enough, it is a small step forward and hopefully a wake-up call for the rest of the countries.
Furthermore, one more thing that won’t be finalized this year is the $100 billion dollars in aid for developing countries. Around 45% of emissions come from 2 countries, namely China and the US [source]. However, it is poor countries that are feeling the most effects of climate change now so help is needed as fast as possible.
One thing that is on the table is the discussion about extracting the gas existing in Africa. “But Lefteris, I thought we are trying to use less gas to help with climate change” I hear you shouting at your screens. Yeah, not sure how things will go there but different interests are at play. I reserve my opinions for next week. After the COP27 comes to a close I will provide a summary of what happened and will talk more about this then.
One last thing that is really on the agenda, is the “loss and damage” discussion. Developing nations have asked COP27 to agree and launch a special fund for countries that have experienced loss and damage due to climate disasters. In previous years, discussions about that special fund were avoided, but there is a hope that this year something will come out of that.
These are just some of the topics that will be discussed in COP27. Next week I’ll
provide a summary of the results and we can have further analysis then.
Conflict resolution between pigs
Long readers of the newsletter know that I have a soft spot for animals. Especially when I read news about the social aspect of their lives and communities. One study that I read this week comes from the University of Torino in Italy and deals with conflict resolution amongst pigs. The small study found that when 2 pigs are fighting, a third bystander pig can intervene to either reduce the expressions of attack by the aggressor or make the defender feel less stressed [source]. The study of 104 pigs had researchers observe and record interactions between pigs. They noted down aggressive behaviors (biting, pushing, head knocking, etc.) and also the behavior of the pigs after the conflict. They found out that the pigs would reconcile after a while (they would sit nose-to-nose, or rest in physical contact with each other) and furthermore, if a bystander pig approached either of them the effects would be lessened. Namely, the aggressor would attack fewer times, and the victim would showcase fewer instances of anxiety. Read more about the study in the article from EurekaAlert here.
Any more news?
People in academia are constantly coming up with new and exciting things so if you need more to quench your curiosity here are some more headlines.
UN Launches Satellite System To Track Methane Emissions, by UN
Dancers pick up the pace on a bass beat, the secret to firing up the dance floor, by SciTechDaily
ALSO: What if we manage to limit global warming to 1.5°C?
That’s all for this week! I hope that the rest of the week will be calm and rewarding. Did you like this newsletter? If you did you can subscribe to it at the top of the page and why not share it around using this sexy little button here
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Until next week… take care and be kind [=