Each month, an individual at a different ACU member institution is invited to write the introduction for this newsletter, providing an opportunity to highlight different perspectives. This month, Dr Paulette Bynoe from the University of Guyana writes for us about the critical need for climate action. Dear , Global climate change is an existential threat that continues to undermine the development gains of small island developing and less developed countries. By exposing the underlying vulnerabilities of the health and social systems of these countries and the fragility of their economies, the COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that climate change will have more long-term and far-reaching consequences. There is no room for delayed actions or backsliding on commitments. The world is at a critical juncture that, whatever we commit to, will mark our collective success or failure in meeting our common objective of holding the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, or by default, set in motion irreversible climate breakdown. The choice is ours to make. Already, global temperatures are on track to rise as much as 3.2°C by the end of the century. The time to act is now. As the 2020 Lead Negotiator/Chair of G77 and China Climate Change Group, I am delighted to be part of that action by mentoring some of the 26 rising-star researchers of the Commonwealth Futures Climate Cohort programme. In the run up to COP26 - the UN Climate Conference - this unique cohort will bring local knowledge to a global stage, build their skills in leadership, knowledge exchange, and policy influence, and work with experts to identify opportunities to engage with issues related to climate and environment. COP26 provides a window of opportunity to act. It is imperative that Parties to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement maintain the centrality of the present and future climate crisis. Experience from previous COPs highlights the need for consensus among Parties not to derail progress and to achieve decisions on the outstanding issues from previous COPs (especially Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on cooperative implementation).
Let us remain optimistic that change will come and continue to drive forwards, even as we welcome the decision by the US to re-join the Paris Agreement and their commitment to achieve very ambitious emissions targets by 2030. Dr Paulette Bynoe
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Guyana
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