The race to zero; a race we must win

Bhutan is recognised as the first country in the world to become carbon negative. In other words the country removes more carbon from the atmosphere than what it puts in. This small country nestled in mountainous terrain is a shining example of big success with efforts on this planet to tackle Climate Change and its disastrous consequences.
After a nearly two-year battle with the Coronavirus (which is still raging in parts of the world), the subject of Climate Change will once again be in the spotlight of world leaders who are under great pressure to decarbonize their economies to fight off the dreadful effects of global warming. COP26, delayed by a year, to be held in a few weeks at Glasgow, will bring together world leaders in what may well be a ‘do or die’mission. Addressing a gathering of ministers at a pre-COP26 event, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres highlighted how critical the event and deliberations there were, when he said, “We can either save our world or condemn humanity to a hellish future.”
The urgency of the subject needs to be seen in the context of several discomforting developments. Among them is the recent August 21 warning by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stating that the targeted threshold global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius could be encountered as early as 2030. In other words, the distance to be travelled in order to avert disaster is getting longer and the time to do so, shorter. In any case, the attempt at COP26 must be steadfast adherence to the 1.5 degree goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement.
COP26 will also have to address and overcome the trust deficit between the developing nations and the developed ones, whom the former consider ‘guilty’ for past emissions and therefore responsible for the current climate crisis. Many are demanding that the rich nations must make good their pledge to fund the poor nations to ‘decarbonise’. In fact, KV Subramanian, India’s Chief Economic Adviser, goes a step further – “This $100 billion that the advanced economies are talking about actually for innovation in climate finance, you know, it’s a drop in the ocean,” he told Reuters. “I think their commitment needs to be much greater.”
The need then is for innovative, speedy, transformative actions, not tentative, incremental measures in this fight to save our planet; and each citizen needs to be a part of this fight. ‘Race to Zero’ is one such global campaign involving a whole spectrum of stakeholders in this mission to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the latest. We need several such initiatives, programmes and campaigns at all levels – national, regional, city and the neighbourhood. Cities, the centres of economic activity with a large share of emissions, will remain central stakeholders in these campaigns. Local city governments will thus lead the efforts in our quest for a safer and more sustainable planet for us and for generations to come.
This issue of Urban Update brings you several views and insights into this subject and hopes to add significantly to the debate on this subject.
I take this opportunity to wish our readers and their families a safe, healthy, and happy
festive season.