COP27: Canadian climate researchers at the conference

As world leaders descend on Egypt for the annual climate conference known as COP27 this year, Canadians are also among those joining the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. is.

“We have the strategies available now. We have the technology to reach those goals for all sectors and all climates,” said Sarah, Executive Director of the Waterloo Climate Institute. We’re not moving fast enough and that’s what this meeting is about.” Burch told his CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.

Burch, the Canadian Research Commissioner for Sustainability Governance and Innovation, heads to COP27, which began on Sunday. Other Canadian researchers are also at the conference and will speak about the role the oceans play in the fight against climate change.

COP27, known as the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, comes after the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report in April, and Birch said: served as lead author.

The report finds that, based on current actions, the world is not on track to keep global warming below 2 degrees this century, ideally below 1.5 degrees.

In November 2021, countries signed the Glasgow Climate Agreement at COP26, reaffirming their Paris Agreement commitments.

Birch says that while the Glasgow Agreement has helped “rapidly ramp up” ambition to meet those commitments, this year’s target will be to align those ambitions with action.

It is also important to figure out how to adapt to the impacts of climate change, she said, citing severe floods in Pakistan this year that killed more than 1,700 people and displaced millions of people. and extreme heat that hit a heat wave. Western Canada in 2021.

“With these impacts happening now, protecting and adapting to our communities is a key priority at this party meeting,” Birch said.

See Sarah Burch’s full interview at the top of the article. Using CTV News and her Associated Press files.