Managers promise to protect forests, close methane leaks at COP26 – Twin Cities

By FRANK JORDANS and JILL LAWLESS

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) – World leaders have promised to protect Earth’s forests, cut methane emissions and help South Africa recover from coal at the UN climate summit on Tuesday – part of a barrage of agreements to avert catastrophic global warming.

Britain hailed the commitment of more than 100 countries to stop deforestation in the coming decade as the first major achievement at the conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow, known as COP26 – but experts noted that such promises have been made and broken before.

More than 120 world leaders were on their way home after two days of receiving sharp warnings about the state of the earth from Johnson, naturalist David Attenborough, Queen Elizabeth II and – most powerfully – the people of countries and regions already facing climate change.

Johnson said at a news conference that it was important to “guard against false hope”, but added that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome of the talks. The conference aims to keep the world on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels – the target set at the Paris climate conference six years ago.

Johnson had a message for negotiators from around the world who will strive over the next 10 days to make politicians’ climate promises a reality: “The eyes of the peoples of the world are on you.”

The UK said it has received promises from leaders representing more than 85% of the world’s forests to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. Among them are several countries with massive forests, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Indonesia, Russia and the United States.

More than $ 19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged to the plan.

Experts and observers said that fulfilling the promise would be crucial in limiting climate change, but many noted that such major promises have been made before – with little effect.

“Signing the declaration is the easy part,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Twitter. “It is important that it is implemented now for humans and the planet.”

Alison Hoare, senior researcher at the political think tank Chatham House, said world leaders promised in 2014 to stop deforestation by 2030, “but since then deforestation has accelerated in many countries.”

Forests are important ecosystems and provide a critical way to absorb carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas – from the atmosphere. But the value of wood as a commodity and the growing demand for agricultural and pastoral land is leading to widespread and often illegal deforestation, especially in developing countries. Indigenous peoples are often among the hardest hit.

“We are pleased to see indigenous peoples mentioned in the forest agreement announced today,” said Joseph Itongwa Mukumo, a native Welsh and Congolese activist.

He called on governments and businesses to recognize the effective role that indigenous communities play in preventing deforestation.

“This is billions in investments in environmental conservation, but it is very difficult for that money to reach indigenous communities, reach traditional communities,” said Chief Ninawa, a leader of the Amazon Huni Kui people who attended the summit.

Some advocates said the forest lift was a step forward. Luciana Tellez Chavez, an environmentalist at Human Right Watch, said there were “a lot of really positive elements.”

She said it was positive to see China and Brazil commit to protecting the forests, but noted that Brazil’s public statements were not yet in line with the country’s domestic policy, warning that the agreement could be used by some countries to “greenwash” their image.

The Brazilian government has been eager to project itself as a responsible environmental manager in the wake of rising deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands that have sparked global outrage in recent years. Critics warn that its promises should be viewed with skepticism, and the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, is an outspoken advocate for developing the Amazon.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden’s administration launched a plan to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The announcement was part of a broader effort with the EU and other nations to reduce total methane emissions worldwide by 30% by 2030.

Maintaining methane burning and leaks from oil wells and gas pipelines – the focus of the Biden plan – is considered one of the easiest ways to reduce emissions. Reducing methane from agriculture, especially by barking cows, is a more difficult matter.

Helen Mountford, a climate expert at the World Resources Institute, said the agreement “sets a strong floor in relation to the ambition we need globally.”

Separately, the United States, Britain, France and Germany announced a plan to provide $ 8.5 billion in loans and grants over five years to help South Africa phase out coal.

South Africa gets about 90% of its electricity from coal-fired plants, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

But advocates say the world’s largest carbon emitter needs to do much more. The Earth is already heated 1.1 degrees Celsius (2F). The current projections based on planned emission reductions over the next decade are that it will reach 2.7C (4.9F) by the year 2100.

Increased warming over the coming decades would melt much of the planet’s ice, raise global sea levels and greatly increase the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather, scientists say.

“I do not think activists are being heard here,” said Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a climate activist from the Philippines.

“We need to make sure we really rally and make sure we are so loud that world leaders can not continue to ignore us,” she said. “Because every fraction of a degree, every step in the right direction is what matters here.”

About 25,000 people are expected to attend the large COP26 rally, from heads of state to activists and charitable workers. Tuesday’s participants were Leonardo DiCaprio, who attracted a bunch of journalists and fans. The Hollywood star, who is the UN representative for climate change, visited an exhibition that highlighted the role that plants can play in providing solutions to climate change.

When the countries announced major initiatives, those in attendance seemed ready to do their small part: For a few minutes on Tuesday, the vegetarian version of haggis – a Scottish delicacy typically made with mutton lungs – was sold out. It was more than the traditional version, servers said – perhaps not surprisingly in a crowd well aware of the impact of meat eating on the climate.