COP stands for “Conference of the Parties,” where Parties refers to the 197 nations belonging to the UN Framework Conventionon Climate Change ( UNFCCC). Since the first conference was held in Berlin in 1995, 2021 sees this event reach its 26th edition. This year it is being hosted by the United Kingdom, specifically at the Scottish Events Campus(SEC) in Glasgow from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12. The conference sees a partnership with Italy, where several events, such as Youth4Climate and PreCOP26, were held in early October.
The 25th Conference of the Parties, hosted by the Chilean government and conducted in Madrid in December 2019, ended in a deadlock. Resolutions were addressed regarding greenhouse gas cuts and aid for poorer countries already suffering the effects of climate change.
What are the goals of the delegation?
TheUNFCCC has identified four major goals in its manifesto for COP26, which are:
– Zero net emissions globally by 2050 and aim to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C;
– Adapt to safeguard communities and natural habitats;
– Mobilize funding;
– Collaborate.
What the pandemic brought is renewed clarity in the purpose of the conference, as well as a precedent that showed us how quickly the world is capable of reacting in the face of danger, different in this case and perhaps only superficially more pressing. “The pandemic highlighted how profoundly fragile and dangerous the ‘old normal’ was,” states the UN Independent Panel on Climate Finance in a December 2020 report. “If the world does not act now, the damage caused by climate change and biodiversity loss will be far more severe and long lasting than the damage inflicted by COVID-19.”
How can environmental impact be measured in the face of climate change?
Carbon footprint is a measure that expresses in CO2 equivalent the total greenhouse gas emissions associated directly or indirectly with a product, organization or service. In accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, the greenhouse gases to be included are: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). The tCO2e (tons of CO2 equivalent) allows the greenhouse effect produced by these gases to be expressed by reference to the greenhouse effect produced by CO2, which is considered to be 1 (e.g., methane has 25 times the greenhouse potential of CO2, which is why one ton of methane is counted as 25 tons of CO2 equivalent).
How does the carbon footprint affect economic models?
Measuring the carbon footprint of a product or process requires in particular the identification and quantification of raw material and energy consumption at selected stages of the product’s life cycle. In this regard, experience in recent years suggests that the carbon footprint label is perceived by consumers as an index of the quality and sustainability of companies. Companies, in addition to conducting the analysis and accounting of CO2 emissions, undertake to establish a carbon management system aimed at identifying and implementing those cost-effective emission reduction interventions using low-carbon technologies.
What measures can be applied to reduce emissions?
Reduction measures can be integrated with those for the neutralization of emissions(carbon neutrality), which can be achieved through activities aimed at offsetting emissions with equivalent measures designed to reduce them through actions that are more cost-effective or more expendable in terms of image (e.g., tree planting, renewable energy production, etc.). A particular example is the reductions generated by the non-disposal of wasteful and donated products: of these, in fact, theCO2eq emissions avoided through donations are calculated. In fact, donated goods, instead of being disposed of, are redistributed: in this way their life cycle is extended and their environmental performance improved.
Since its inception, the Regusto platform has been a facilitating tool in generating awareness and stimulating waste prevention, and is a reliable tool in the relationship between companies and institutions in combating climate change through the generation of environmental indices that can account for the carbon footprint rates of the life cycle of the donated product.
Therefore, we are committed to being at the side of businesses and public administrations every day to turn the goals of important institutional tables such as COP26 into reality. With the goal that they will not remain just resolutions.