COP26: WHAT IS IT AND HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Feature Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

By now, it’s likely you’ve heard of COP 26 – it’s been on the news in the run-up, and since it opened on 31 October this year in Glasgow.

What is COP26 and why is it happening?

COP means “Conferences of the Parties” and is an opportunity for nations, transnational organisations, NGOs and signatories of the Kyoto Protocol to come together to discuss the latest developments, progress against reduction targets and negotiate collective action on climate. This is the 26^th year it has taken place; the first, COP 1, took place in Berlin in 1995, and subsequent COPs have taken place annually ever since – with the exception of 2020, where the COP was delayed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no denying that climate change is happening; the world is warming because of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, like coal, oil and gas used by humans for their homes, factories and transport. 2019 was the final year of the hottest decade on record, and the Climate Emergency movement, supported by many civilian protests who campaigned for change, culminated in hundreds of governments declaring a state of emergency due to climate change.

What is climate change?

Climate change is the biggest concern today. Climate change is the term used to describe the shift in global climate conditions including weather phenomena, average temperatures and rising sea levels, caused by greenhouse gas emissions attributed directly or indirectly to human activity.

Climate change is responsible for extreme changes in weather patterns: heatwaves, hurricanes, cyclones, drought, and extreme weather-related events, such as forest fires, warming oceans, melting ice, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Extreme weather events are already threatening lives and livelihoods as some farmlands are turning to desert and are becoming uninhabitable. In other regions, the opposite is happening, with extreme rainfall causing historic flooding – as seen recently in China, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

What is global warming, or the greenhouse effect?

Global warming is one aspect of climate change and refers to the rise in global temperatures. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that create a “blanket” around the planet, making the planet much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. Without greenhouse gases the planet would be about 18 degrees colder than it is today, however the continual increase of greenhouse gases is changing the planet’s natural greenhouse effect, trapping more heat and increasing global temperatures.

Causes of Global Warming

Over the last 170 years human activities from a growing population has resulted in increased carbon dioxide concentrations which by have risen by 50% above pre-industrial levels; this equates to 1.2 degrees celsius warmer, and we’re emitting more carbon dioxide each year. Other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide are also on the rise and contribute to global warming.

Greenhouse gas emissions are caused mostly by industry as a whole, with the production of electricity accounting for about 25%; agriculture from deforestation, methane emissions from livestock and nitrous oxide from fertilizers accounting for another 25%; the transport industry which relies heavily of fossil fuels accounts for about 11% and building shelters and regulating the temperature inside them contributes to about 6% of total emissions. These emissions have added to the greenhouse gases already present in the earth’s atmosphere, making a blanket of gases, also referred to as the “enhanced greenhouse effect” and has resulted in a warming earth.

There are also natural causes of global warming such as sunspots which cause an increase in ultraviolet rays which can change the energy radiating to earth’s atmosphere, increasing the global temperature.

The Impact of Global Warming on the Environment

Scientists predict that the impacts of global warming will continue to have serious consequences for the planet.

Melting Glaciers

Since the early 1900s glaciers have been melting due to warmer temperatures and without intervention NASA predicts that before the middle of the century the Arctic Ocean will become ice-free.

Ice reflects heat back into space and acts to keep the planet cool – a warmer atmosphere causes the planet’s snowpack, sea and freshwater ice to melt as well as glaciers and exposes darker ocean waters which absorb more sunlight than ice heating the ocean more and speeding up a cycle of melting and heating in a process known as albedo.

Also, as frozen ground melts in places like Siberia, greenhouse gases trapped for centuries will be released into the atmosphere, worsening climate change.

Thawing Permafrost

Permafrost is a combination of soil, rocks and sand that are held together by ice on the ground that remains frozen for two or more years but due to a warmer climate microbes begin decomposing the carbon in the thawing permafrost creating greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Permafrost covers large areas of earth and once thawed it can cause erosion, ground subsistence, landslides, loss of lakes and infrastructure and can have a devastating effect on people and the environment.

Rising Sea Level

Melting ice contributes to rising sea levels causing coastal erosion and subsidence and affects ocean currents. Rising sea levels makes storm surges capable of greater damage along coastal regions and as flooding becomes more common in these areas fishing will be affected and will also result in a loss of biodiversity as wildlife will lose its natural habitat. Coral reefs and sea grass meadows are in danger of drowning as they can only survive in relatively shallow water.

Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching due to warmer temperatures has resulted in the starvation, shrinkage and death of corals that support thousands of species that live on coral reefs pushing this ecosystem to its limit.

Oceans absorb carbon dioxide and according to the Environmental Defence Fund, ocean acidity has increased by 25% over the years damaging many ocean species that use calcium carbonate to form their shells and skeletons, a process that is disrupted if water becomes too acidic.

The increased evaporation of water is like fuel for storms – precipitation (rain and snow) has increased causing flooding, and weather patterns are changing as heatwaves and hurricanes, tropical storms, cyclones and typhoons are becoming more frequent. Increased evaporation also results dry places getting drier causing some regions to suffer from severe drought, increasing the risk of wildfires which impact on loss of habitat for many species, lost crops and loss of drinking water.

Global production of crops such as rice and wheat have been impacted as climate change is altering rainfall, making farming harder especially in countries that do not have food security.

Loss of Biodiversity

Deforestation, which is the removal of trees from forests and other land, that are cut down so the ground can be cleared and used for other purposes causes greenhouse gases and has a huge impact on the natural habitat of many species. Estimates suggest that we are losing 80,000 acres of tropical forest each day, and this is also linked to a loss of biodiversity and a decline in the number and variety of species – many of which are at risk and for others could lead to complete extinction.

Also, as the world gets warmer, animals will find it harder to find the food and water they need to live. For example, polar bears could die out as the ice they rely on melts away, and elephants will struggle to find the 150-300 litres of water a day they need.

Scientists believe at least 550 species could be lost this century if action is not taken now. Loss of biodiversity also impacts on the functioning of ecosystems and future generations may have to deal with increased vulnerability to plants from pests and fewer sources of freshwater.

Why is COP26 so important?

Governments agree urgent collective action on climate is needed, as it estimated that global warming will increase to 1.5 degrees celsius between 2030 and 2052. In making a climate emergency declaration, governments are acknowledging that there is scientific proof of a climate emergency and that measures already in place are insufficient to limit the changes brought on by global warming.

The concept of a ‘COP’ in the context of climate change emerged with the founding of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the ‘Earth Summit’ conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The “Earth Summit” followed the first ever report, in 1990, of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international collective of climate scientists who come together regularly to summarise the state of the art in climate research and laid out a scientific consensus for some of the core principles of climate change.

Before Rio in 1992, there were only disparate international treaties on specific global environmental challenges, like the governance of the oceans (UNCLOS), or the cross-border movement of endangered species (CITES), and no overarching frameworks under which climate cooperation could take place.

What happened at the COPs that came before?

1992 – United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (‘Rio Earth Summit’)
1997 – Kyoto Protocol COP 3, which established legally binding emissions reduction targets
2009 – Copenhagen Accord COP 15
2011 – Durban Platform for Enhanced Action COP 17
2012 – United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (‘Rio+20’)
2015 – United Nations Sustainable Development Summit
2015 – Paris Agreement COP 21, which established nationally determined contributions (‘NDCs’) to emissions reductions and a ‘ratchet mechanism’ to increase the ambition of these NDCs every 5 years.
2021 – Glasgow COP 26

At COP 26 this November countries will set out their carbon reduction plans for 2030, and many countries have pledged to get to net zero by 2050. This means reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible and balancing out remaining emissions by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. Experts agree that this is achievable, but it will require governments, businesses and individuals to make big changes.

What can we do to make a difference?

We know that everything we do relies on energy – heating our homes, traveling to work, charging our phones and laptops, cooking and washing. All activity whether personal or business-related has an effect on the natural environment, as we use up natural and often unrenewable resources and contribute to warming our planet through greenhouse gas emissions. But there are things we can do as individuals to consume less resources and rethink our energy supplies.

Although major changes need to come from governments and businesses, scientists agree that even small changes in our lives can limit our impact on the climate: Here are some suggestions:

Having a home compost for vegetable food scraps, avoiding food waste by cooking smaller portions and by cooking in bulk to save on energy, recycling, buying second-hand to prevent items from going into landfill, turning off lights and appliances when not in use, changing transport choices by car-sharing, traveling by bicycle or walking, using public transport are all ways in which we can reduce emissions.

When choosing a holiday, we can also off-set carbon emissions on any flights as air travel is one of the most carbon intensive forms of transport. Other ways include sustainable travel – through choosing to stay in environments that work at finding ways to reuse and recycle, use green energy and green or organic materials for their products and buildings.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

The definition of a carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community.

We can calculate our carbon footprint by taking into account several factors, including transport choices, diet, size and number of people living in our home, shopping habits, use of energy, fuel and appliances and recreational activities.

Nearly everything we do releases some amount of carbon into the atmosphere, but we can decrease our carbon footprint with everyday choices, for example, the food we buy has a carbon footprint because it requires machinery and resources to grow, harvest, package and transport it to where we bought it from.

Shop Local and Seasonal

Shopping locally instead of at the larger supermarket chain stores is a great way to reduce your environmental impact and has many benefits. Local growers can tell you how the food was grown and with technological advances such as polytunnels and glasshouses these seasons can be extended even when grown locally.

When you buy directly from local farmers, there is more transparency, as you have the opportunity to ask what practices they use to raise and harvest the crops. When you know where your food comes from and who grew it, you know a lot more about your food.

Buying seasonal food produced on local farms is fresher, healthier and does not require long distances for transport, and is typically tastier and full of flavour – it also often means no plastic and less packaging.

Studies show that crops that are grown and picked at their peak of ripeness contain more nutrients when allowed to ripen naturally on their parent plant, so buying seasonal food makes more sense – also purchasing seasonal local produce helps support local farms and maintains farmland and open space in the community.

Buying seasonal, organic food contains fewer pesticides and uses less intensive farming methods, and as no chemicals will be used in its production, reducing resources used further, this lowers the overall carbon footprint.

What we eat also makes a big difference, as vegetarian and vegan diets have much smaller carbon footprints than consuming meat or other animal products – even going one or two days a week without meat can make a difference.

Energy-Saving Devices

Other ways we can reduce our carbon footprint include buying energy saving devices and appliances which are designed to help you cut down on the amount of power you’re using. It doesn’t have to be high-tech, either.

These devices could save water, heat, or help you track your energy use – all ways to make your home more energy-efficient. The more energy-saving devices and tricks you use, the more pounds you might be able to knock off your bills!

Using energy-saving devices around the home can help you save money in a few different ways:

Holding onto heat, so you don’t have to use as much energy on your heating
Saving water (which means using less power to heat water)
Making sure that your appliances are running efficiently
Giving you more information about your energy use
Automatically turning things off when you’re not using them
Making it easier for you to control your electrical devices

Insulation

One of the best ways to reduce your consumption is through ensuring your home is insulated so less energy is used through heat loss.

Smart plugs

Smart plugs help you automate your non-smart devices, by setting times for them to switch on and off. You can also control smart plugs from an app on your phone, which is great if you realise you’ve left something on while you’re out of the house.

Smart thermostats

Smart thermostats can reduce your heating bills by as much as 31%. They do this by:

Setting different temperatures for different parts of your home (so you don’t waste energy heating rooms you’re not using).
Automatically adjusting the temperature to keep things at the right level, so you don’t use more power than you need.
Displaying data that shows you where you’re wasting the most energy on heating.
Making sure the heating is off when you’re not at home – it can be controlled from your smartphone!

Radiator boosters and radiator reflectors

Radiator boosters are white telescopic tubes that you attach to the top of your radiators. They draw the heat from behind the radiator and fan it around the room. This warms the room up, so you might be able to turn down your thermostat.

Radiator reflectors do a similar job. They look like a sheet of foil, and you place them between your radiators and the wall. They reflect the heat back into the room, making sure you’re as toasty as you can be without turning the heat up.

Automatic radiator bleeders

Another way to make your radiators run efficiently is to bleed them regularly. You should aim to do it once a year. If you don’t want to do this yourself, you can install self-bleeding radiator valves, which release the build-up of air in your radiators automatically. They simply let any build-up of air seep out of the radiator, keeping it running as well as it can.

Draught-proofing

Draught-proofing your home is another way to save energy. By trapping all the warmth you need inside your house or flat, you’ll be able to keep your heating on for shorter periods, and at lower temperatures.

Energy-saving letterbox covers act like a draught excluder, stopping heat from escaping through the slot in your door. Some look like a brush; others are like a flap that goes over your letterbox.

LED Light Bulbs and Motion-Detector Lights

In most houses, lighting makes up roughly 15% of electricity use. That’s why installing LED lightbulbs which use less energy makes sense, and they can last for a staggering 34 years. According to the Energy Saving Trust, you can save £2-3 a year for every traditional halogen bulb that you switch to an LED.

Installing motion detector lights, will also help reduce electricity as they are only on when needed.

Smart meters

Although smart meters don’t directly save energy themselves, they are one of the most powerful tools you can use to cut down your energy bills, as a smart meter gives you all the info you need to make savings. You can use it to figure out where you’re wasting the most energy in your home and make changes for the good of the planet – as well as your wallet.

Water Saving Devices and Tips

There are many ways that you can save water around your home. A water meter, like a Smart Meter will help you to reduce your water and sewerage bills. Even if you do not have a meter, using water wisely and cutting down on the amount of hot water you use will lower your gas and electricity bills. Using less water will also help reduce the greenhouse gases that are released from collecting, treating and supplying clean water.

Shower rather than take a bath and set a timer to keep showers short, or if having a bath reduce the water by an inch as it will save around five litres of water.
Switch to an efficient shower head that reduces flow, as they can help you use less water by reducing the water pressure, mixing air with the water, or making the water ‘pulse’ rather than come out in a steady flow.
Switch to a dual flush toilet which gives you the choice of how much water to use. A dual flush system uses just 6 litres – or 4 litres with a reduced flush – much less than the 13 litres for an old-style single flush. Alternatively get a water-saving Cistern Displacement Device or a ‘hippo’ for your old-style toilet cistern.
Install water butts which will save up to 5,000 litres of water a year. Water butts usually store about 200 litres of water. As well as being better for watering your plants, using rainwater in the garden reduces the amount of treated water you use. You can also save bath water and use to water the garden and wash down garden furniture and surfaces. Water outdoor plants in the early morning or at the end of the day to stop water from immediately evaporating in sunlight and heat. Cut water use by 33% by watering plants manually with a watering can instead of using an automatic sprinkler. Garden sprinklers and hosepipes left running can use between 500 and 1,000 litres of water an hour.
Use a bowl in the sink when washing fruit, vegetables of dishes. You can then use the wastewater to water your plants.
Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth or shave. A running tap uses up to nine litres of water a minute. Use a plug instead of running the tap when washing in the sink.
Fix leaking taps and stop what could be 60 litres of water going down the drain every week. Regularly check kitchen pipes and dishwasher hose for slow leaks.
Use a dishwasher on an eco-setting and fill it up completely before switching it on. Only wash a full load when using the washing machine too and use the most water-efficient cycles. Some new washing machines use less than seven litres of water for each kilogramme of clothes, while modern dishwashers can us as little as 10 to 15 litres of water a cycle.
Reduce food waste, as it takes a lot of water to produce cereal, fruit and other food and cut down on meat and diary. By eating seasonal vegetables you can also help conserve water.
Steam food to cut water usage (this also retains more natural nutrients) but if boiling, use the leftover water as a stock for soups, or let it cool down and use it for watering plants.
Reduce your consumption of cotton as it is a thirsty plant – the global average water footprint to grow 1kg of cotton is 10,000 litres and it’s estimated that processing (including spinning, dyeing and finishing) requires another 100 to 150 litres of water per 1kg.

Switch to Renewable Energy

One of the best ways to cut emissions is through the use of renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy, which comes from natural sources or processes that are naturally replenishing. Using renewable electricity, or green gas, to cook can also help shrink an individual’s carbon footprint further.

New technologies and renewable energy are the single most cost-effective way to cut energy use in buildings. Installing solar energy, or Photovoltaic, (PV) technology, which are cells made from silicon or other materials that are placed on rooftop panels transform sunlight directly into electricity for heating and lighting.

Consume Less

As well as saving money on energy and water we can also lower our carbon footprint by reducing our consumption and wasting less.

Refill and Reuse

A fifth of our shopping bill goes on disposable packaging, which not only costs you money, it requires natural resources to be produced and also costs local authorities billions of pounds to be collected, sorted and recycled.

The UK has recently seen an explosion in the number of small, independent refill initiatives and zero-waste shops in our towns and cities, many of which have emerged from the frustration of not being able to shop without creating waste.

Today there are also many mobile refill shops that that provide home deliveries that are plastic free in recycled paper bags and glass bottles, with bottle swap services to avoid accumulation of glass bottles.

Refill shops allow consumers to bring in their own containers to refill them with the quantities of products they need or pay for one in store and bring it back for a refill when they’re ready for more, which therefore prevents the need for packaging and waste disposal.

Other reuse models enable us to refill at home, using refills bought in a shop or online. Alternatively, consumers can get their empty containers picked up from home, replenished and delivered back. Another way to reuse is through companies that enable consumers to return packaging at a store or drop-off point, as part of a deposit-return scheme.

We can also choose to use reusable products, rather than single-use plastic, for example a recycled bag or a “bag for life” made of fabric will reduce one’s carbon footprint. Since 5 October 2015, large retailers in England have been required by law to charge 5p for all single use plastic carrier bags, The charge has seen a 95% cut in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets since 2015. Before the charge was introduced, the average household used around 140 single-use plastic carrier bags per year, and this has now reduced to 4 bags per household.

“95% of the clothing we throw away are able to have a second life, although globally 20% of textiles are recycled, meaning the other 80% are lost to landfill or incineration”.
Alden Wicker, Fashion Revolution

Buying pre-owned clothing offers us the opportunity to utilize manufactured items which may no longer serve their initial buyer, but still have a long-life use. Every year in the UK a whopping 13 million items of clothing ends up in landfill every week, which contributes to climate change as waste sent to landfill produces the greenhouse gas methane.

Recycle

Recycling is the recovery of waste materials that are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes composting but does not include incineration.

There are three main types of recycling schemes: buy-back centres, which purchase waste materials that have been sorted and brought in by consumers; drop-off centres, where consumers can deposit waste materials but are not paid for them; and curbside collection, in which homes and businesses sort their waste materials and deposit them by the curb for collection by a central agency or local authority.

There are many opportunities for recycling: paper can be recycled back into other paper products; glass can be recycled, some plastics can be recycled, for example PET, (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and HDPE, (High-Density Polyethylene) can be widely recycled, and even clothing can be recycled into new products. Many second-hand clothes shops are redesigning and crafting pre-loved clothing into new garments – popularly known as “Re-worked” or “Re-made”. These garments are 100% unique and are about bringing new life to something that’s used and doesn’t contribute to textile waste going into landfill, wasting less, and giving pre-loved clothing a second life.

The Mobius loop is the unfamiliar name of a very familiar symbol: a triangle composed of three green arrows looping back on themselves in clockwise direction in a triangle.

This symbol indicates that a product can be recycled, but not necessarily that it has been itself produced from recycled materials.

Drop off recycle schemes such as Terracycle for example, offer free, national recycling solutions for typically hard-to-recycle waste streams. Other brands such as Walkers®, offer a simple and free crisp packet recycling scheme, which accepts all brands. This is now the largest and fastest-growing scheme of its type in the UK, with more than 1,600 public drop-off locations nationwide.

Repair

In addition to these solutions, if an item is damaged or broken then repair it rather than buy a new one.

NO to Returns

Avoid the returns trap when buying online, as returns have a huge impact on carbon emissions due to further complex transport logistics, packaging and in the case of fashion, textile waste. Many companies make it all too easy by tempting us with free and easy online returns, but according to Optoro, a tech company that helps major retailers manage their returns, 5 billion pounds of returned items end up in landfill each year. The fashion industry has the worst statistics, with up to 20% ending up in landfill.

Returns not only create a giant carbon footprint, but a real headache for companies, as many companies simply don’t have the technology in place to handle the different nuances in returned goods, so it is often most profitable for them to sell them cheaply to discounters via a web of shipping, driving and flying them around the globe again, or to simply discard them in landfill.

Buy Slow

If you do need to buy a new product buy one that is better quality that will last longer, for example when buying clothes it is better to buy premium quality fashion, often known as slow fashion – this means the item will be a fashion staple that will not go out of fashion and is of a high quality that is made to last longer.

Buy Less

Last but certainly not least, the number one thing you can do as a shopper to minimise your environmental impact, and reduce your carbon footprint is to simply buy less. The average person is exposed to around 5,000 advertising messages every single day, and while we may not be able to control TV ads, billboards or the Instagram algorithm, we can certainly rein in our exposure by taking steps to minimise brand influence on our screens. By unfollowing fast fashion brands and product-pedalling influencers it not only helps clear your feed for more inspirational, informative and creative content, but also helps make subtle adjustments to your ad targeting, which in turn will shrink your fashion footprint as you build more conscious buying and break free from the constant push to buy more.

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