Climate change is a sensitive issue that, for many years, most governments have tried to make disappear. This was done in an effort to hide the seriousness of this phenomena and also maintain the status quo.
The climate crisis is not something we can hide away from any longer. Every day, somewhere in the world, we get a reminder that repercussions for our own inaction are already here.
The heavy fires in Greece, the heatwaves across the world, the heavy thunderstorms and rain we have seen even close to us in Sicily, these are all signs we are still lagging far behind from where we should have been in the fight against climate change.
The world is on track to reach a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the current century, according to the UN Emissions Gap Report. This increase is far higher than the 1.5°C rise this century, which was the aspirational goal of the Paris Agreement.
The report shows that the actions taken and pledges made so far are not enough and that is why something needs to be done now. COP26 is the perfect opportunity for this to happen. An opportunity for all world leaders to meet, discuss and plan how to tackle this serious issue can mark a dramatic turnaround in global ambitions to finally take climate change seriously.
The first day of COP26 made it clear that leaders do understand the serious situation that we are facing and the sense of urgency we all must have to act. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson likened climate change to a doomsday device that urgently needs defusing while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres claimed that we missed many opportunities and that many promises were broken over the years.
Let us be known as the generation that finally started tackling climate change, not the generation that let the planet burn- Alex Agius Saliba
Acknowledging the problem is a good step forward but without concrete action this will not mean anything. From the biggest polluters such as China and India to much smaller countries like Malta, we must all do our part. We have heard promising pledges such the Global Methane Pledge, being driven by the EU and US President Joe Biden, and a pledge by world leaders to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.
Over 120 countries, including Malta, have signed this pledge to stop the devastating loss of forests across the world, including places like the Amazon rainforest. Trees are one of our major defences in a warming world as they suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and absorb around one third of global CO2 emitted each year.
The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, has announced that his country will reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. China has put forward its plan to reach net zero emissions by 2060. These are positive steps forward, yet, these countries are being far less ambitious than they should be. Experts are saying that the 2050s is the decade by which the world needs to reach net-zero carbon emissions – the most polluting countries are still not doing enough.
COP26 is the moment that all world leaders should stand united and be ambitious in their approach to tackle climate change. No country, big or small, must be selfish and consider only its interests because doing so will ensure that we, and our children, are the ones who will suffer.
Whatever happens in the next decades, this current generation will make history. Let us be known as the generation that finally started tackling climate change, not the generation that let the planet burn.
It is completely in our hands.