Guest:

Javier Gutierrez, Secretary of the Presidency of Nicaragua for Climate Change and Vice-Minister of Environment and Natural Resources

Background:

Under the slogan Uniting the world to tackle climate change, the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which will be held in Glasgow (UK) from 1 to 12 November 2021, will bring together representatives of some 200 governments with the aim of accelerating climate action to fulfill the Paris Agreement. The Presidency of the conference is already working with civil society and business to prepare the annual event and inspire climate action ahead of the event.

What is COP:

The Conference of the Parties or COP is the supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty that sets out the basic obligations of the 196 states (or parties) and the European Union to combat climate change. It was signed at the 1992 Earth Summit and came into force in 1994. Since then, a COP has been held every year to review the status of its implementation and to propose, evaluate and approve other instruments to support its establishment.

On 12 December 2015, in the framework of COP21, world leaders approved in Paris a historic agreement to slow down climate change. They committed to keeping the global average temperature increase to well below 2 ºC with respect to pre-industrial levels, and to work to limit this increase to 1.5 ºC. They also agreed to intensify efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to make funding flows consistent with the transition to a low-carbon economy and climate-resilient development.

Now, five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, climate action has become a key part of the recovery plans for the COVID-19 pandemic. A green recovery that creates sustainable jobs and that addresses challenges linked to public health, climate change and loss of biodiversity in order to protect the environment for future generations.

 Many in the audience may know that Nicaragua did not sign the Paris Agreement because the Ortega Government did not believe the accord went far enough specifically regarding wealthy northern hemisphere countries to the detriment of the vulnerable countries of the global south. This is why we are so fortunate to hear from Vice-Minister Gutierrez today about Nicaragua’s impending proposals at COP26 and how these proposals emphasize the effects of climate change and the necessary response required for Nicaragua and all of Central America.

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