WEBVTT - Will Egypt, holding the 'crown' of COP27, deliver? | EP 18 0:00:00.000 --> 0:00:02.310 this is a C N A podcast, 0:00:03.390 --> 0:00:05.040 there's no extra time. 0:00:05.580 --> 0:00:09.219 This is your chance to step up to template is 0:00:09.220 --> 0:00:13.340 to action and put a future back on the right track. 0:00:15.140 --> 0:00:19.320 Welcome to the climate conversations with me julie you? Most 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:22.810 people will by now have heard that the biggest international 0:00:22.810 --> 0:00:27.040 climate conference, cop 27 is taking place this month in 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.210 Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. Some may even be aware 0:00:30.220 --> 0:00:32.930 the event could be a turning point for the climate 0:00:32.940 --> 0:00:34.010 and the planet. 0:00:34.270 --> 0:00:37.520 But before we delve into what's up for discussion, let's 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:41.360 try and clear up the basics. What is cop 27 0:00:41.370 --> 0:00:44.190 why is it such a big deal and can it 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:48.140 actually save the world? We're here to tell you everything 0:00:48.140 --> 0:00:51.500 you need to know about cop is Melissa lo she 0:00:51.500 --> 0:00:53.600 is a research fellow at N. U. S. Center for 0:00:53.610 --> 0:00:58.600 Nature based Climate Solutions. Melissa is only 35 years old 0:00:58.610 --> 0:01:01.830 but she has been to 10 previous cop meetings and 0:01:01.830 --> 0:01:04.080 is attending this year's conference as well. 0:01:04.490 --> 0:01:07.250 Welcome Melissa. Thanks for having me julie 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:14.030 first things first. What is? So the cop stands for 0:01:14.030 --> 0:01:17.750 the conference of the parties and this primarily refers to 0:01:17.750 --> 0:01:21.080 the U. N. Framework convention on Climate change and so 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.009 parties are meeting for the 27th time this year in 0:01:24.010 --> 0:01:27.030 Sharm el sheikh Egypt. There's a lot of jargon has 0:01:27.030 --> 0:01:29.660 been throwing around at cop events but what we 0:01:29.670 --> 0:01:33.750 Here over and over again is a Paris agreement or 0:01:33.750 --> 0:01:38.110 Paris accord as I believe was signed back in 2015 0:01:38.230 --> 0:01:42.940 on this day. The Paris agreement on climate change enters 0:01:42.940 --> 0:01:45.820 into force. Tell us a bit about what it is 0:01:45.819 --> 0:01:48.610 and why is it still important? The Paris agreement was 0:01:48.620 --> 0:01:50.460 agreed in December 2015 0:01:50.630 --> 0:01:53.780 And what the agreement does it commits all countries to 0:01:53.790 --> 0:01:58.640 reducing the rise in global temperatures to not beyond 1.5°. 0:01:58.650 --> 0:02:01.650 I think the amazing thing about the Paris agreement is 0:02:01.650 --> 0:02:06.070 that it requires all countries unlike its predecessor, the Kyoto Protocol. 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.919 And I think a lot of countries are extremely confident 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:10.160 that the Paris agreement 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.460 in its current form will take us to where we 0:02:12.460 --> 0:02:14.500 need to be as long as we put forward the 0:02:14.500 --> 0:02:17.580 right targets to get there. In fact, the slogan for 0:02:17.580 --> 0:02:23.669 cop 26 was keeping 1.5 alive. But let's face it melissa, 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.300 we've been increasingly hearing in how the 1.5 degree target 0:02:27.300 --> 0:02:30.850 is fast fading away. Do you think it's still a 0:02:30.850 --> 0:02:33.850 feasible goal? Well, we have to keep our hopes up 0:02:33.860 --> 0:02:34.910 and absolutely 0:02:34.935 --> 0:02:39.484 right. The 1.5 degree window is closing extremely fast and 0:02:39.485 --> 0:02:42.255 we must do more than what we're already doing. And 0:02:42.255 --> 0:02:44.734 so the paris agreement, one of the key things about 0:02:44.735 --> 0:02:48.425 it is also an ambition cycle. So every five years 0:02:48.425 --> 0:02:51.955 countries need to up their targets, meaning they have to 0:02:51.955 --> 0:02:55.804 put forward more ambitious targets. And Singapore has actually submitted 0:02:55.805 --> 0:02:57.855 a new enhanced target this year and we will be 0:02:57.855 --> 0:02:59.590 bringing it to the cop 27 0:02:59.770 --> 0:03:02.590 I think that countries if they're serious about fighting climate 0:03:02.590 --> 0:03:06.109 change and addressing its impacts, they will follow this ambition 0:03:06.110 --> 0:03:10.450 cycle and submit new and better targets every five years goals. 0:03:10.450 --> 0:03:14.500 A year ago, the country's banks, business leaders announced a 0:03:14.500 --> 0:03:18.410 slew of climate plans and pledges, how have those big 0:03:18.410 --> 0:03:22.940 promises progress since? That's a great question because cop 26 0:03:22.940 --> 0:03:25.510 was just last year in November and so were one 0:03:25.510 --> 0:03:29.110 year in and the world has changed tremendously within this year. 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:32.450 And I think one of the biggest worries is what's 0:03:32.450 --> 0:03:36.350 happening in europe right now. The Russia Ukraine crisis resulting 0:03:36.350 --> 0:03:40.150 in huge energy crunch. I think a lot of countries 0:03:40.150 --> 0:03:44.840 that we think might backslide on their targets simply because 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.560 they're not able to get energy supply for the winter 0:03:48.570 --> 0:03:52.370 coming ahead. We haven't really seen great progress in the 0:03:52.370 --> 0:03:55.680 last one year as countries recover from the covid 19 pandemic, 0:03:55.690 --> 0:03:58.460 hopefully coming out of it better and stronger. 0:03:58.630 --> 0:04:02.480 But it's just one crisis after another. Of course remain 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.780 hopeful and optimistic that we'll get through eventually. But I 0:04:05.780 --> 0:04:09.310 think this year has just been particularly tough if last 0:04:09.310 --> 0:04:13.430 year's cop was the commitment cop where climate pledges and 0:04:13.430 --> 0:04:16.630 targets were set. Many say that this year is the 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:21.750 implementation cop what are the big objectives this time, expectations 0:04:21.750 --> 0:04:24.880 are really high this year for the cop to deliver 0:04:24.900 --> 0:04:29.169 On something called mitigation ambition under the mitigation work program. 0:04:29.170 --> 0:04:32.240 So this is for countries to raise their ambitions before 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:36.670 2030 and why is 2030 important? It's because that's when 0:04:36.670 --> 0:04:40.580 the first round of nationally determined contributions or climate pledges 0:04:40.589 --> 0:04:43.990 are due in 2030. There's a big program called the 0:04:43.990 --> 0:04:47.229 mitigation work program that will take us there. So countries 0:04:47.230 --> 0:04:49.980 are going to agree on a process to get us 0:04:49.980 --> 0:04:51.169 there in 2030 0:04:51.670 --> 0:04:52.170 issues 0:04:52.170 --> 0:04:56.490 Relating to climate adaptation. So if mitigation fails, given that 0:04:56.490 --> 0:04:59.020 the climate will warm and continue to warm with what's 0:04:59.020 --> 0:05:01.860 already been emitted into the atmosphere, we need to think 0:05:01.860 --> 0:05:05.790 about how to enhance climate resilience among the most vulnerable 0:05:05.790 --> 0:05:08.460 of countries. And so climate adaptation is on the table 0:05:08.470 --> 0:05:09.969 at Cop 27 this year. 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:13.589 There's also the big issue of loss and damage. So 0:05:13.589 --> 0:05:16.860 there are a number of developing countries, particularly small islands, 0:05:16.870 --> 0:05:20.720 that are asking for developed countries to put money towards 0:05:20.730 --> 0:05:24.850 disaster relief, for loss and damage funding so that they 0:05:24.850 --> 0:05:28.410 can make peace with some of their losses that are irreparable. 0:05:28.420 --> 0:05:31.089 And the last issue that is squarely on the table 0:05:31.089 --> 0:05:32.750 is climate finance countries need 0:05:32.767 --> 0:05:35.366 To come up with a new floor of at least 0:05:35.367 --> 0:05:40.247 us $100 billion 2025 onwards. And we're watching eagerly as 0:05:40.247 --> 0:05:43.967 to whether that commitment will take place because I think 0:05:43.967 --> 0:05:46.916 it's really important to build trust and rebuild the trust 0:05:46.916 --> 0:05:49.356 that perhaps has been lost with the lack of progress 0:05:49.367 --> 0:05:52.236 in the last year. Who are the leaders that you're 0:05:52.237 --> 0:05:54.556 most excited to hear from. And I think it's really 0:05:54.557 --> 0:05:55.400 important 0:05:55.414 --> 0:05:58.594 that the heads of states of countries that have submitted 0:05:58.594 --> 0:06:01.654 new pledges from cop 26. So there are only about 0:06:01.654 --> 0:06:06.394 20 countries that have displayed climate leadership before cop 27 0:06:06.404 --> 0:06:09.344 of course this includes Egypt the host of the cop 0:06:09.344 --> 0:06:14.084 27 this year. Australia Indonesia being the g 20 chair 0:06:14.094 --> 0:06:17.614 India has also come forward with an updated nationally determined 0:06:17.613 --> 0:06:18.049 contribute 0:06:18.331 --> 0:06:20.861 per the Glasgow climate pack. So I'm really eager to 0:06:20.861 --> 0:06:23.351 hear what these countries have to say, but also the 0:06:23.351 --> 0:06:26.221 large emitters like china and the U. S. And of course, 0:06:26.221 --> 0:06:28.251 I think Singapore will also have a part to play 0:06:28.261 --> 0:06:31.841 at the cop 27 this year, but we know who 0:06:31.841 --> 0:06:35.211 won't be attending this year. This is no longer a 0:06:35.211 --> 0:06:35.651 climate 0:06:35.651 --> 0:06:39.741 conference, this is now a global north green wash 0:06:39.741 --> 0:06:40.710 festival, 0:06:40.890 --> 0:06:44.669 wow some harsh words from the young Swedish activist Greta 0:06:44.670 --> 0:06:48.190 to Hamburg. They're criticizing the global summit as a forum 0:06:48.190 --> 0:06:51.740 for greenwashing mel does she have a point 0:06:51.740 --> 0:06:52.440 here? 0:06:52.450 --> 0:06:56.130 Well, I've been attending cop for a very long time 0:06:56.130 --> 0:06:59.469 and sometimes I dread going as well because it's a 0:06:59.470 --> 0:07:01.700 lot of work. It's a lot of effort on the 0:07:01.700 --> 0:07:05.490 ground to capacity build people talk to the media trying 0:07:05.490 --> 0:07:08.930 to get the complex negotiations untangled for everyone. 0:07:09.180 --> 0:07:12.250 I hesitate to say it's greenwashing. I think it's important 0:07:12.250 --> 0:07:15.120 that we're there. I think what's more important is what 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.830 we do when we leave the cop the cop is 0:07:17.830 --> 0:07:20.660 a platform for negotiations is a place where people go 0:07:20.670 --> 0:07:24.010 and bring their points across, particularly for young people and 0:07:24.010 --> 0:07:26.840 if Greta thunberg were to attend, she would be able 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.170 to inspire a lot of people, but I'm sure she 0:07:29.170 --> 0:07:31.650 just wants to send a very strong message that actually 0:07:31.650 --> 0:07:33.720 the work needs to be happening on the ground. 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:37.630 Speaking of skeptics, there are those who think cop 27 0:07:37.630 --> 0:07:41.440 will likely disappoint, especially with 2022 now being a typical 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.530 year with recession fears food and energy shortages and the 0:07:45.530 --> 0:07:47.010 war in Ukraine 0:07:47.250 --> 0:07:50.720 Melissa, how concerned are you that the level of ambition 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:55.080 in Egypt will likely fail to match that in Glasgow 0:07:55.090 --> 0:08:00.440 or would the meeting hold more relevance? You're absolutely spot 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.830 on on that expectations are really high for cop 27 0:08:03.830 --> 0:08:06.780 to meet the same level of ambition 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:10.280 and goals that the cop 26 presidency put on the table. 0:08:10.290 --> 0:08:13.040 But let's keep in mind this is an african cop 0:08:13.050 --> 0:08:16.280 and I think the focus areas are fairly different from 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:18.260 what the U. K. Was focusing on and I think 0:08:18.260 --> 0:08:21.340 the U. K has a different set of clout as well. 0:08:21.350 --> 0:08:25.170 Mark Carney was special rap and I believe he managed 0:08:25.170 --> 0:08:28.150 to bring big banks to commit to net zero finance 0:08:28.150 --> 0:08:28.740 as well. 0:08:28.900 --> 0:08:32.290 I think it's important to know what each court presidency 0:08:32.300 --> 0:08:34.210 brings to the table and what they can do at 0:08:34.220 --> 0:08:38.050 each cop and certainly I feel that if cop 27 0:08:38.050 --> 0:08:41.220 were to be a success, it would deliver on adaptation 0:08:41.220 --> 0:08:44.040 and loss and damage as well as climate finance. I 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.309 believe that cop 26 played a role in driving the 0:08:47.309 --> 0:08:51.790 interest among non party stakeholders. So beyond government. So we 0:08:51.790 --> 0:08:52.599 have a lot of 0:08:52.809 --> 0:08:56.120 said the private sector joining us at cop 26 but 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.010 I think we'll see a different set of participants attending 0:08:59.010 --> 0:09:02.420 cop 27 because they want to drive resilience, they want 0:09:02.420 --> 0:09:05.339 to drive loss and damage payments. And I think all 0:09:05.340 --> 0:09:08.010 of these views are very valid and we have to 0:09:08.010 --> 0:09:10.020 hear them out and there's something at the court. We 0:09:10.020 --> 0:09:15.179 call procedural justice where you have to afford countries and 0:09:15.190 --> 0:09:16.720 voices to be heard 0:09:16.860 --> 0:09:19.220 Even if the outcome and the outcome will be a 0:09:19.220 --> 0:09:22.480 form of compromise. At least people feel they've been given 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.520 a platform to talk about these important issues and work 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:28.690 towards an end goal. So where do you expect the 0:09:28.690 --> 0:09:33.060 most struggle? The last cop 26 got extended for a 0:09:33.059 --> 0:09:35.179 couple of days. Is that something that you expect a 0:09:35.179 --> 0:09:38.450 cop 27 as well. Yes. The interesting thing about the 0:09:38.450 --> 0:09:39.630 cop is 0:09:39.653 --> 0:09:42.583 that there is a phrase that uses nothing is agreed 0:09:42.583 --> 0:09:46.102 until everything is agreed. So it's a package deal if 0:09:46.102 --> 0:09:49.392 you will and there are many different tracks of negotiations 0:09:49.393 --> 0:09:51.663 happening at the cop at any one point in time 0:09:51.673 --> 0:09:55.843 is extremely confusing. You have to track different agendas and 0:09:55.852 --> 0:09:59.012 basically what happens in the end is a package of 0:09:59.023 --> 0:10:02.023 decisions are put forward to the ministers when they arrive 0:10:02.023 --> 0:10:02.423 in the sec 0:10:02.566 --> 0:10:05.826 week and the ministers will go and evaluate based on 0:10:05.826 --> 0:10:09.006 their own countries interest, but also in the global interest 0:10:09.016 --> 0:10:12.236 and they will decide on some trade offs. And I 0:10:12.236 --> 0:10:14.726 think everybody leaves the car a little bit unhappy because 0:10:14.726 --> 0:10:18.806 if we left extremely happy, we've done something completely wrong 0:10:18.816 --> 0:10:21.915 for the climate. So everybody leaves a bit unhappy because 0:10:21.916 --> 0:10:23.626 it means that we have to make some cuts and 0:10:23.626 --> 0:10:25.240 some changes to our behavior. 0:10:25.450 --> 0:10:28.410 I think where the most contention will happen is the 0:10:28.410 --> 0:10:31.520 adaptation and loss and damage and loss and damage is 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:33.640 particularly challenging because 0:10:33.890 --> 0:10:38.030 my sense is that if developed countries end up committing 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:42.030 to this loss and damage funding, it would perhaps mean 0:10:42.030 --> 0:10:45.390 that they've essentially admitted that they've caused climate change. And 0:10:45.390 --> 0:10:47.970 I think that's something really difficult for them to admit 0:10:47.980 --> 0:10:51.610 at the cop level. Perhaps they might give some money elsewhere. 0:10:51.620 --> 0:10:55.350 Denmark for instance, announced it would commit something like 100 0:10:55.350 --> 0:10:57.830 million danish kroner in september this year 0:10:57.855 --> 0:10:59.975 to loss and damage. So that's happening outside of the 0:10:59.975 --> 0:11:04.145 cop and Scotland and Belgium have also individually pledged money 0:11:04.145 --> 0:11:07.145 to help countries offset the damage that have been caused 0:11:07.145 --> 0:11:09.985 by climate change. And in some cases this damage is irreversible. 0:11:09.985 --> 0:11:13.015 And so how do we see an outcome where countries 0:11:13.015 --> 0:11:16.975 don't feel like they have to admit to that responsibility 0:11:16.985 --> 0:11:20.185 and then we should be solutions oriented rather than problem 0:11:20.195 --> 0:11:21.820 oriented when we go to the cops 0:11:22.390 --> 0:11:27.459 Keep listening as I'll be posing more climate-related questions to Melissa, 0:11:27.530 --> 0:11:30.260 some of which have been asked by our followers on 0:11:30.260 --> 0:11:33.310 social media. Alright Melissa, there are some of the questions 0:11:33.309 --> 0:11:36.569 are followers have posed for you and I feel like 0:11:36.580 --> 0:11:39.170 no one can answer this first question better than you 0:11:39.170 --> 0:11:41.930 since you've been to cop 10 times. So for those 0:11:41.929 --> 0:11:45.079 of us who have never been to cop, what's it like? 0:11:45.100 --> 0:11:46.349 It must be pretty intense. 0:11:46.780 --> 0:11:50.199 It is and it's extremely overwhelming. It's your first cop 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.579 and I know it's your first cop. So when you 0:11:52.580 --> 0:11:54.720 go there okay, first thing you have to wear comfortable 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.860 shoes because the court venue is massive and you have 0:11:57.860 --> 0:12:00.340 to walk to different places in your case, it will 0:12:00.340 --> 0:12:03.150 be the media area, but you also want to perhaps 0:12:03.150 --> 0:12:07.720 attend some negotiations like plenary sessions, I'm considered an observer 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:08.430 to the cop. 0:12:08.510 --> 0:12:11.450 So the National University of Singapore has been accredited since 0:12:11.450 --> 0:12:14.950 2014 as an official observer. What we do is we 0:12:14.950 --> 0:12:17.880 get a yellow batch and so the different badges of 0:12:17.890 --> 0:12:21.090 the cops allows you into different rooms and for observers, 0:12:21.090 --> 0:12:22.880 we get to go into some of the smaller rooms. 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.300 As long as countries decide that they will allow observers 0:12:26.300 --> 0:12:29.040 in the room for transparency were allowed to sit in 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:30.110 for and listen to the news 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:32.510 and quite often we take notes so that we can 0:12:32.510 --> 0:12:34.760 make sense of it a bit later. There are also 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.250 a lot of side events that you can attend at 0:12:37.250 --> 0:12:40.640 the copies are basically like seminar style events that you 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:44.320 can go listen to interesting speakers and then their pavilions 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:48.459 that countries set up to showcase the important policies and 0:12:48.460 --> 0:12:51.329 work that they've been doing and perhaps to drive partnerships 0:12:51.330 --> 0:12:51.960 as well. 0:12:52.179 --> 0:12:54.540 And that's actually what I'm most looking forward to is 0:12:54.550 --> 0:12:57.229 the number of people going from Singapore this year has 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.920 increased because this is the first time Singapore will be 0:12:59.920 --> 0:13:03.320 hosting a pavilion at the cop. So the cop is 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.830 really like a big expo almost right. But it's very 0:13:06.830 --> 0:13:12.059 serious because negotiations affect lives negotiations affect the trajectory of 0:13:12.059 --> 0:13:15.400 our emissions. Ultimately, when it comes to climate change, what's 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:17.860 one thing to look out for a cop that may 0:13:17.885 --> 0:13:20.405 many of us don't know about fossil of the day 0:13:20.405 --> 0:13:23.615 is an award that young people come together and give 0:13:23.615 --> 0:13:26.434 out at the end of each day at six o'clock. 0:13:26.445 --> 0:13:30.525 It's very entertaining because they sing the Jurassic theme park song, 0:13:30.535 --> 0:13:33.465 Somebody dresses up as a T rex. And you know, 0:13:33.465 --> 0:13:35.905 when it happens because it draws a very large crowd 0:13:35.915 --> 0:13:39.275 essentially is a form of a demonstration where young people 0:13:39.275 --> 0:13:42.975 will award a fossil to the top three countries that 0:13:42.975 --> 0:13:43.590 have 0:13:43.929 --> 0:13:47.750 displayed some form of frustrating behavior at the cop. The 0:13:47.750 --> 0:13:50.310 country will be given a fossil that day at the 0:13:50.309 --> 0:13:52.070 end of the two weeks there will be a big 0:13:52.070 --> 0:13:54.730 fossil colossal fossils. Sometimes we call it. It's quite an 0:13:54.730 --> 0:13:59.600 entertaining demonstration by youth. It reflects how closely they tracked 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.359 the negotiations. So I think all countries are usually quite 0:14:02.370 --> 0:14:05.599 on guard because they worry that they become a fossil. Right? 0:14:05.610 --> 0:14:08.860 That's one of the fun side of cop that 0:14:09.030 --> 0:14:10.979 those of us who have been many years we look 0:14:10.980 --> 0:14:14.059 forward to very much because it's hard to deal with 0:14:14.059 --> 0:14:15.680 climate change. I think we just need a little bit 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:19.870 of comic relief every now and then. Why is Egypt 0:14:19.870 --> 0:14:24.010 hosting cop 27 so controversial. There have been a lot 0:14:24.010 --> 0:14:28.000 of news reports about how Egypt is organizing this cop. 0:14:28.010 --> 0:14:31.880 Some have observed that number one sham el Sheikh is 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.710 not the easiest place to get to. It's a resort town. 0:14:34.710 --> 0:14:36.540 It's really expensive for a lot of 0:14:36.550 --> 0:14:39.860 observers. And the second thing is it appears that Egypt 0:14:39.860 --> 0:14:43.290 is also clamping down on activists. They're not allowing activists 0:14:43.290 --> 0:14:46.200 to attend the cop. Some observers have shared that they 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.120 don't think that this cop will have that procedural justice 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:53.020 providing the platform for youth voices and strong activist voices. 0:14:53.030 --> 0:14:56.270 And I think interestingly enough this is the first african 0:14:56.270 --> 0:14:59.990 cop since cop 22 which was held in marrakech in 0:14:59.990 --> 0:15:04.060 Morocco in 2016. The year after the paris agreement was adopted. 0:15:04.250 --> 0:15:07.850 And that last cop was also very exciting and interesting 0:15:07.850 --> 0:15:09.780 because it was the U. S. Election that year in 0:15:09.780 --> 0:15:12.840 2016 and president trump actually became president while we were 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.560 in marrakech which set a different tone all together when 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.400 we were there. So this particular cop I hope it's 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:21.560 not too controversial but it's a cop that has experienced 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.200 a lot of changes in the last year. So again 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:27.730 because of the high prices because of the activism clamped down. 0:15:27.730 --> 0:15:30.240 It seems I think these have shown a not so 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.040 great light on the presidency. The U. N. F triple C. 0:15:33.050 --> 0:15:38.230 Executive secretary Patricia espinosa has stepped down after six years 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.020 as the chief of the U. N. Framework Convention on 0:15:41.020 --> 0:15:44.170 climate change. And so this year is a transition year. 0:15:44.180 --> 0:15:47.990 So we have a new successor to the U. N. F. C. C. C. 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:51.410 Executive secretary is Simon style from Granada and he was 0:15:51.410 --> 0:15:54.020 just appointed in august this year. It remains to be 0:15:54.020 --> 0:15:57.720 seen how effective he will be in steering the cop 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:00.310 and the outcomes this year. And I think we also 0:16:00.310 --> 0:16:01.850 have interesting 0:16:02.030 --> 0:16:05.760 look ahead because it's been announced already that cop 28 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:08.280 will be held in U. A. E. So one of 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.900 my biggest worries is that because we already know where 0:16:10.900 --> 0:16:13.000 the next cop is going to be and when it's 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.800 going to happen that countries might feel like oh then 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:17.660 let's like forward stuff to next year. 0:16:17.675 --> 0:16:20.285 But I hope they don't do that of course who 0:16:20.285 --> 0:16:24.435 gets to decide which country gets to be the next presidency. 0:16:24.445 --> 0:16:27.375 It rotates among the five regions in the world. So 0:16:27.375 --> 0:16:31.105 there's europe there's Asia the Middle East and the Americas 0:16:31.105 --> 0:16:34.675 and so on. Any given country can offer to host 0:16:34.675 --> 0:16:38.185 the cop. I like to liken the cop presidency to 0:16:38.185 --> 0:16:41.390 something like the miss universe. When you are the presidency, 0:16:41.390 --> 0:16:43.770 you have to hold it until you hand over the 0:16:43.770 --> 0:16:45.270 torch to the next person 0:16:45.450 --> 0:16:48.790 genuinely feel a little bit sorry for the UK because 0:16:48.790 --> 0:16:52.920 they've been holding this torch for so long. The cop 0:16:52.930 --> 0:16:57.130 26 was actually postponed in 2020 because of the pandemic. 0:16:57.130 --> 0:16:59.800 They haven't had an easy task but I think handing 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:01.710 it over will be a big relief to them 0:17:02.310 --> 0:17:06.410 Up next. You'll hear what Melissa thinks cop 27 means 0:17:06.410 --> 0:17:09.600 for Singapore and what role the country is expected to 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:11.400 play at the climate conference. 0:17:19.330 --> 0:17:22.389 Hi, I'm Adrian Tan and I'm Christina robert. We are 0:17:22.390 --> 0:17:25.280 the host of a new podcast called working. We're here 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:27.720 to get into the essential things that no one tells 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:30.820 you about working in company culture from office politics to 0:17:30.820 --> 0:17:34.130 dealing with burnout. If you've ever wanted to eavesdrop on 0:17:34.130 --> 0:17:37.760 an interesting conversation by the water cooler. This podcast is 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.640 for you look out for our episodes wherever you get 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:41.530 your podcast. 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:53.070 So melissa, let's talk about what cop 27 means for Singapore. 0:17:53.070 --> 0:17:55.970 What role the country is expected to play at the 0:17:55.970 --> 0:18:00.820 climate conference. Singapore is expected to submit enhanced carbon emission 0:18:00.820 --> 0:18:02.580 goals at cop 27. 0:18:02.850 --> 0:18:06.629 Given that it's a country that contributes about 0.1% of 0:18:06.630 --> 0:18:10.320 global greenhouse gas emissions, new climate emissions at cop 27 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:15.820 mean anything absolutely 0.1% of emissions really isn't very much 0:18:15.820 --> 0:18:18.490 in the global scheme of things. But of course, I 0:18:18.490 --> 0:18:22.100 think it's important that we play our part. We strongly 0:18:22.100 --> 0:18:26.030 believe here in Singapore in the multilateral rules based process 0:18:26.030 --> 0:18:29.670 that is these U. N. Negotiations and so therefore we 0:18:29.670 --> 0:18:32.060 must play an active role if we want to be 0:18:32.060 --> 0:18:32.359 seen as 0:18:32.369 --> 0:18:37.729 it's incredible negotiating party by submitting our enhanced target this 0:18:37.730 --> 0:18:40.300 year as per the Glasgow Climate Pact and what it 0:18:40.300 --> 0:18:43.879 called for countries to revisit and strengthen its targets. I 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:48.100 think put Singapore in a really good position to encourage 0:18:48.109 --> 0:18:51.660 nudge other parties who haven't done so yet. You would 0:18:51.660 --> 0:18:54.250 have heard that D P. M. Lawrence Wong at the 0:18:54.250 --> 0:18:59.030 opening of the Singapore International Energy Week announced Singapore's revision 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:01.879 of our NBC, which is now a fixed 0:19:01.890 --> 0:19:06.750 Level target of 60 million tons of emissions in 2030. 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:09.290 Of course, he also mentioned that we will peak 0:19:09.300 --> 0:19:10.680 earlier before 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.119 that and then come down and it's been expressed as 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:15.930 a stretch target. And so for me, I'm really looking 0:19:15.930 --> 0:19:19.290 forward to seeing the NDC submitted officially to the U 0:19:19.290 --> 0:19:20.940 N F C C C and to look at the 0:19:20.940 --> 0:19:24.389 specific details as to how we look to achieve this target. 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:27.190 The other target that we have announced formally as well 0:19:27.190 --> 0:19:29.790 is the net zero by 2050 target. And that's also 0:19:29.790 --> 0:19:31.410 in fact part of the paris agreement 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:35.160 which calls and encourages countries to submit long term low 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.620 emissions development strategies. And in 2020 Singapore actually was fairly 0:19:39.619 --> 0:19:42.449 noncommittal about this. We said we can achieve net zero 0:19:42.460 --> 0:19:45.600 if the technology is viable by the end of the century, 0:19:45.810 --> 0:19:48.070 there's a bit more pressure because more and more countries 0:19:48.070 --> 0:19:49.930 up in that net zero targets right? There are about 0:19:49.930 --> 0:19:54.109 53 countries now that have targets by 2050 and most 0:19:54.109 --> 0:19:56.970 of them are net zero. And so Singapore felt that 0:19:56.970 --> 0:19:59.200 we needed to re look at this and because of 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.540 the Article six or international carbon markets that were finalized, 0:20:03.540 --> 0:20:06.510 the rules were finalized last year, cop 26 as well 0:20:06.510 --> 0:20:07.850 as two sets of technologies, 0:20:07.859 --> 0:20:12.820 Carbon capture storage and utilization as well as hydrogen. It 0:20:12.820 --> 0:20:15.770 now looks as if Singapore can at least make a 0:20:15.780 --> 0:20:18.939 strong effort to achieve net zero. Once we exhaust the 0:20:18.940 --> 0:20:23.130 mitigation options, we might buy carbon credits through the international 0:20:23.140 --> 0:20:26.190 frameworks to get to zero in 2050. But I think 0:20:26.190 --> 0:20:28.100 the key really is to try and mitigate as de 0:20:28.100 --> 0:20:29.909 carbonized as much as possible before that. 0:20:30.130 --> 0:20:32.500 And like I said, I think Singapore will play, in 0:20:32.500 --> 0:20:35.100 my opinion, we often play an outsized role at the 0:20:35.100 --> 0:20:38.920 cops because we make effort to understand other countries interests 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:42.030 at the court meetings and were sometimes described as an 0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:46.500 honest broker or facilitator of outcomes because we can think 0:20:46.500 --> 0:20:50.910 of solutions that might be a bit more palatable or 0:20:50.910 --> 0:20:52.580 appealing to a variety of country. 0:20:52.590 --> 0:20:56.480 For example, Minister graceful last year was asked to co 0:20:56.480 --> 0:21:00.650 facilitate article six negotiations which were really contentious and we 0:21:00.650 --> 0:21:02.590