Jagdeo to lead high-level delegation at COP26

Aug 30, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who is often referred to as the “Champion of the Earth”, will be leading a high-level delegation to the high-anticipated 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Scotland this November. This is according to the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

“We know that we are a small country but we have been contributing towards keeping down emissions,” Bharrat said on Wednesday at the Guyana Forestry Commission’s (GFC) office in Georgetown; “On our front, we want to ensure that we preserve our forests. As a matter of fact, a high-level delegation that will be headed by the Vice President will be attending COP26 to discuss climate change in the United Kingdom.”
Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner and Her Majesty’s non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname Jane Miller spoke of the importance of COP26. She also said on Wednesday that not only will the discussion about this hallmark event be on climate change, but also on resilience and adaption.
“You don’t need me to tell you; you have seen across the world the impact of climate change – whether it be floods, fires, or more intent storms – these are things that are going to become a norm unless we do something active about that. We hope that the climate change conference at the end of the year will bring some resolve across the entire planet to do some climate change mitigation,” the British High Commission said.
COP stands for “Conference of the Parties”, which are the signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty agreed in 1994 which has 197 Parties (196 countries and the EU).
United Nations climate change conferences are among the largest international meetings in the world. The negotiations between governments are complex, and involve officials from every country in the world as well as representatives from civil society and the global news media.
Activity at a COP takes place in two different zones – the Blue Zone and the Green Zone.
The Blue Zone is for people registered with the United Nations body tasked with coordinating the global response to the threat of climate change. In the Blue Zone delegates from countries meet for both formal negotiations and informal consultations.
Participants may also take part in meetings with other delegations to clarify their position and interests with the aim of reaching an agreement or overcoming a negotiating deadlock. The UNFCCC will also host a range of events, including technical briefings, to support the negotiations process.
The Green Zone is for the general public where there will be a wide range of events, including workshops, art exhibitions, and installations, as well as presentations, demonstrations of technology, and musical performances for participants to attend.
The conference was rescheduled from the initial November 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notably, the Vice President will be leading a delegation to Suriname before COP26 to discuss with Guyana’s counterparts in identifying a common strategy in dealing with climate change and the environment.

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