Hold To Task

World leaders, leading scientists and environmental activists are in Glasgow, Scotland, for the 26th Conference of Parties (COP), an annual event focused on issues related to the climate crisis and global emissions. This year’s Summit comes a few months after a United Nations report revealed the pace at which extreme weather and rising seas are happening faster than expected, labeling it a “code red” for humanity. Though more than 50 leaders and hundreds of experts are in attendance at the Glasgow conference, including United States President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the absence from the summit of China’s President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, whose countries are considered among the highest gas emitters has raised a lot of eyebrows.
Since Sunday, October 31, 2021 all focus has been at the COP26 Summit where the different stakeholders are brainstorming on how to be more committed on their promises to cut greenhouse gas in order to put the world on track by limiting warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. By so doing, it would help prevent the worst-imagined catastrophic changes threatening the planet, scientists say. As extreme weather events including super storms, forest fires and floods increasingly hit countries around the world, even the slightest increase in global temperatures will worsen the situation. 
The emissions that cause climate change come from every part of the world and affect everyone, but some countries produce much more than others. The 100 least-emitting countries generate 3 per cent of total emissions. The 10 countries with the largest emissi...