As COP26 enters its second week, climate and energy experts from the University of Delaware are sharing their opinions about the proceedings, including pressing issues, conference goals, and future outlooks. In this entry, Wei-Jun Cai, the Mary A.S. Lighthipe Chair of Earth, Ocean, and Environment in UD’s School of Marine Science and Policy, shares his thoughts.
What is the most pressing issue in climate change today?
Reduce anthropogenic carbon release to reach the goal of controlling warming within 1.5 degrees C.
What is your takeaway from COP26 so far?
The world is serious about combating climate change, but we are still short compared to what we are doing and will do and what we have promised.
What do you think of the goals that COP26 set for itself (net zero by 2050, adapt to protect communities and ecosystems, mobilize finance, and work together)?
I think it is doable and we humans are ready technically. However, it is the lack of political will that prevents us from this goal.
Where do we go from here?
We entered global warming because of industrial activities. I believe we need engineering solutions to achieve carbon reduction to combat global warming through environmental and natural solutions (such as ecosystem and oceanic uptake of CO2), and we need to continue that.
