COP26 (The 26th Conference of the Parties), also known as The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, is a conference attended by more than 190 world leaders and other representatives who would discuss climate change. This event is held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, from October 31st – November 12th, 2021, to reach an agreement on how to tackle climate change among every nation.
At COP21, the Paris Agreement, every country had agreed to work as a team to retain global warming below 2 degrees, and they have committed to work on their own NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution). And now it is time to evaluate.
Even though we have made progress, we still need much more action to reach our goals. And in the meantime, we still have to face such urgency. Because an increase of 1 degree does really matter.
An example is coral reefs that are currently suffering from coral bleaching caused by warm seawater and rising sea levels. The ocean is a massive essential for the living such as it produces half of the world’s oxygen, absorbs carbon dioxide, and importantly, regulates the climate. In addition to that, coral reefs are necessary for the ecosystem underneath.
Between 2009-2018 about 14%, which equates to around 11,700 square kilometers of coral reefs, are gone. Indonesia, as the contributor of an estimated 10% of the world’s coral reefs, 33,8% are in poor condition, and 37,4% are in fair condition, from surveys in 2019. And if we are not taking action towards it, we may not have corals anymore in the future, for our next generation. The future depends on us right now.
Read more about How Does Climate Change Affect Corals and The Status of Coral Reefs in Indonesia 2019.
As we might see, the impact of climate change is very devastating, and if we continue as we are, everything will collapse with “No Future.” It is a great deal that everyone is gathering to work together to protect and restore the habitats.
We may not be involved in the conference, but we can contribute with a small step as an individual. We can save coral reef ecosystem from anywhere we are by adopt baby coral because corals are our future.