A Quick Break: COP29 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is Almost Here!
My heart is Gen Z! My body is a Showa-era person past the age of 60! I am a grandpa who is a Gen Z supporter!?
The COP mentioned yesterday regarding the Environment Minister's absence was the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties, and the one starting on November 11th is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties, COP29.
Both this Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change are treaties that came into effect following the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
Many countries have ratified them, but the history of their entry into force is actually that the more low-profile Convention on Biological Diversity came first in 1993, while the Framework Convention on Climate Change was in 1994.
These two COPs (Conference of the Parties) have been driven by UN initiatives and have a history of over 30 years, but they are not progressing as hoped.
It is not quite like the US presidential election, but division is hindering progress.
That is the division between developed and developing countries, and domestic circumstances also differ among developed countries. It is true that it is the developed countries that have achieved economic development by continuing to burn fossil fuels. Even Japan has overcome two oil shocks and expanded its range of fossil fuels from oil to coal and LNG (natural gas) and continued to burn them.
I can also understand the sentiment of developing countries: 'What are developed countries saying so selfishly? We are in the middle of economic development, and you're telling us not to burn fossil fuels? Don't mess with us!'
However, island nations and others are in a crisis of survival due to rising sea levels, so I am sure I am not the only one who thinks this is no time for division.
For convenience, I will refer to the COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity as CBD COP, and the COP of the Framework Convention on Climate Change simply as COP.
There is a common framework for global efforts to solve social issues, centered on CBD COP and COP. However, climate change response is easier to understand than biodiversity conservation because there is a common yardstick called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which, although invisible, can be measured.
[International Response System for Climate Change] ①COP29
(International conference by parties: 2024 is the 29th time)
②IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel: An organization that provides policy hints based on scientific knowledge)
③AR6 (Sixth Assessment Report: This is the latest assessment report on global warming)
④Paris Agreement (Common global rules for achieving the 2030 goals)
⑤NDC (Notification of emission reduction contributions that each country promises based on the Paris Agreement)
⑥TCFD (Framework for companies to grasp GHG emissions and disclose information on climate change risks and opportunities)
⑦GHG Protocol (Framework for calculating greenhouse gas emissions using common global rules)
Following this framework for climate change countermeasures, efforts for biodiversity conservation have also been advancing.
【International Framework for Biodiversity】
① CBD COP16 (International conference by parties: 2024 is the 16th)
② IPBES (The biodiversity version of the IPCC, an intergovernmental organization that scientifically assesses trends regarding ecosystem services and strengthens the link between science and policy)
③ Global Assessment Report (An assessment report provided by IPBES for policymakers, equivalent to the IPCC's AR)
④ GBF (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: the biodiversity version of the Paris Agreement)
⑤ Is it 30by30? (I wrote 30by30 because it is a quantitative goal, one of the 23 targets of the GBF to protect 30% of land and sea areas by 2030, but unlike climate change initiatives, the mechanisms for setting specific goals and evaluation/reporting are weak.)
⑥ TNFD (A framework for companies to evaluate and disclose information on how they conduct business while impacting nature and biodiversity <atmosphere, oceans, freshwater, land>)
⑦ Unfortunately, none (There is no global common yardstick yet like the GHG emissions calculated by the GHG Protocol.)
Well, it might be good to keep these complicated things in mind while watching the news about COP29.
What will happen at COP29 after the US presidential election results come out tomorrow? My hope for COP29 is that
“from science to action” will advance even a little. I want 2024 to be the peak of GHG emissions. But, I wonder if that's impossible...
It is fossil fuels that are meeting the increased power demand due to the AI boom in developed countries, so will the peak-out be delayed to 2025, or even further to 2026?
I am worried that the goals of the Paris Agreement are getting further and further away like that.
I want both the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment to go to COP29, but I suppose they are too busy with political affairs to do so. It is a pity that Japan is isolated in the world.
At the very least, the Minister of the Environment must go to COP29.
☆☆☆
(Gratitude)
▼ I am using Nana-san's illustrations in the [Grandpa's Preparation] series. Thank you always, Nana-san.
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