World leaders in Glasgow face a clear task: they must agree on a comprehensive package of outcomes that will accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and deliver an outcome that responds to the needs of the most vulnerable people on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
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Executive Summary
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On the same day the country confirmed its highest-ever daily death toll from COVID-19, confirmed 4,329 deaths from COVID-19, it was also hit by a deadly storm. On May 18 2021, Cyclone Tauktae barreled into India’s west coast overnight packing wind gusts of up to 130 miles per hour — some of the strongest on record — and slammed into the coastal region of Gujarat, already one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, uprooting trees, felling power lines and destroying homes and crops. More than 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the western state of Gujarat. Hundreds of COVID-19 patients were also shifted from coastal wards in Mumbai to other hospitals farther inland.
Only a year ago, during the first wave of SARS-CoV-2, West Bengal was battered by Amphan, formed over the Bay of Bengal on the East coast of India. Right after that Cyclone Nisarga devastated Maharashtra on west coast, followed by Nivar that hit Puducherry on the east coast. In the last four years, pre-monsoon cyclones over the Arabian Sea have become common.
The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal have been heating up due to climate change.
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ECO has heard COP26 will be held in space so we can escape the pandemic! Forget about electric buses. Elon Musk and SpaceX will be special sponsors and ensure equitable participation of all parties and observers. It’s clear: Aerosols don’t spread as fast in empty space… ECO heard. And if there is a COVID outbreak, delegates can simply be denied access to Earth until they recover. Easy! But, no, wait… maybe that’s just a rumour. We would not want to speculate.
At the same time, ECO also heard that this year’s COP26 is going to take place in Glasgow (on Earth) and the usual gift and freebies basket for delegates will include COP-themed masks and some Vitamin C pills and a ginger shot to boost your immune system – after all, there is a pandemic. ECO cannot wait.
On a serious note., ECO only feels comfortable sharing these rumours because they are obviously silly. You get the point, dear delegates and UK Presidency: The lack of clarity is fertile ground for speculation and rumours, making it hard to trust the process. And trust is the very foundation of any multilateral process. The lack of clarity also makes it also hard to plan – for visas, hotels, budgets, the effective participation of those most impacted by the climate crisis, and more.
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Dear Delegates,
ECO has done some more research on the human brain and psychology. How do we approach solving complex problems? How are our brains wired, when we are, again and again confronted with … the same old, complicated challenge such as finding solutions to common timeframes, market mechanisms or how to fulfill a 10-year old commitment? And how do we ensure progress rather than getting stuck in detail or old solutions that do not work?
ECO is relieved to report that there is hope! Our brain muscles are flexible! Hurray! ECO was fearing our brains are rigid and only work on autopilot! This is not the case. You can come up with new discussions and new solutions. Going forward you don’t need to repeat the same agenda items, but you can add new ones to improve the balance and open up the game to all players. Which reminds ECO of the fact that not all of the sessions are open to observers yet – parts of the game are still not transparent! Good job on all those that supported observer calls on this.
But ECO would like to bring you back to
finding a way forward – out of the detail and into the serious business of
preparing for the way forward – the road to COP26.
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Dear Delegates,
ECO is sure over the past year of zoom sessions, delegates must also have seen some people joining videos all dressed up for the camera while still wearing their pyjama shorts. Given the time in the day these sessions take place such an outfit only seems fitting – ECO applauds all the individual efforts of hard-working delegates and observers!
And ECO has heard about scientists studying links between clothes and brain activity. They found dressing up for work can improve your productivity – hearing the discussions in some sessions like the one on reporting tables for NDCs ECO has been wondering if we are witnessing a huge virtual pyjama party where delegates are half-asleep when questioning if the summary table of NDC reporting should in fact be …a table??!
In truth ECO couldn’t care less about anyone’s clothes and wants to turn to some more serious matters: The (im)balance in the wardrobe: If you have 100 shirts it does not make sense to go only one pair of underwear and a lonely sock. ECO fears it’s also not convincing if you say eventually later you get some more socks. Similarly, ECO heard many parties flagging the imbalance of the agenda – in particular finance and loss and damage are sidelined at this virtual SB.
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