COP 27 and ‘the Shame Archive’
“A record of shame, cataloging the empty promises that set us firmly on the path to an uninhabitable world.” This is how the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, classified the recently published report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shows that average greenhouse gas emissions have reached the highest levels in history.
COP 27 will be held in November in Sharm Elikh, Egypt, in light of the challenges facing all countries involved in the global effort to tackle the climate crisis in a scenario combined with the years of the epidemic and brutally affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The energy crisis resulting from the conflict has increased the demand for coal, especially in the countries of the European Union, which will certainly lead to greater resistance to firmer commitments to combat the greenhouse effect. This time, the conference will have a different map on the tables than the one planned for COP 26 in Scotland.
Competence, tenacity and above all resilience in concrete commitments for the climate. Nations also bear their responsibility in this great global challenge of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century, an objective set by the Paris Agreement in 2015, the first global climate decade.
Local efforts, alignment, will help nations achieve goals capable of diverting the planet from one path without returning to an undesirable future. The São Paulo Environmental Convention, launched in November 2019, was designed and technically coordinated by the São Paulo Environment Corporation (CETESB) and is carried out with the support of International Relations, Urumi Infrastructure and Urumi Environment.
Inspired by the Paris Agreement, it is a sub-national measure aimed at the voluntary commitment of companies present or active in the State, which are associations representing the productive and municipal sectors, so that they can commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Initially with 55 followers, today there are 1,648 participants from various productive sectors, as well as municipalities and international observers.
At COP 26, the government of the State of São Paulo presented “Reboresta S. Grown 5%. In November, we will present the objectives achieved by working in our forests, which included the cooperation of agribusinesses through the program agricultural law.
However, the issue of global warming goes beyond the most obvious aspects involving fossil fuels and deforestation. Today, we know that water pollution is a very important factor in the emission of greenhouse gases, and São Paulo has also acted in this area.
The dead section of the Tietê River, which reached 530 km in the 1990s, is now reduced by 84%. In the space of 3 years, between 2019 and 2021, point source pollution affecting the river has decreased by 48%. These successes inspired the implementation of the new Pinheiros River, the largest socio-environmental program in Latin America.
The initiative has already connected more than half a million barwas to the sewage system and removed hundreds of thousands of tons of waste and sediment from the river rail.
Actions are also progressing in other areas, including renewable energy, advanced fuels and energy efficiency, as well as boosting low-carbon agriculture and the bioeconomy, to name a few- one. The results of these policies are visible throughout the country. Sao Paulo’s commitment, guaranteed by Governor Rodrigo García, goes beyond its territory.
In partnership with the nine states of Amazon Legal (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranháo, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia Roraima and ToCantins), it has committed $100 million to the region, which is essential to the abolition of distress. For COP 27, we are determined to extend this contribution to climate agreements.
We can no longer think of a healthy economy that is not taken into account in environmental, social and governance standards. The need for economic recovery and resilience in the face of geopolitical adversity reinforces our responsibility in this global enterprise. Julio Sierson is the Minister of International Relations of the government of the State of São Paulo.
