Cop26: mgr. Arnold (English Bishops), agreement on forestation a good thing. “The UN Conference is moving in the right direction”

“Can the agreement on forestation reached by Cop26 be actually put in place, and what will happen in the meantime? Yes, we have the signatures of 105 countries, who have promised to stop deforesting and give life to the already ruined parts of the forests by 2030, but it’s reasonable to wonder what will happen in the meantime. Will hundreds of thousands of hectares of trees be still destroyed in the next nine years?”. With these words, bishop John Arnold, spokesman of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, comments on the “Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use”, signed at Cop26, the UN Climate Change Conference that is taking place in Glasgow until 12th November. “There will be, of course, other statements about the details of such decision that seems to be an important start to the environmental summit. Interestingly enough, the Brazilian delegation agrees on such declaration”, bishop Arnold points out. “The choice to reduce methane emissions, taken by at least 90 countries, is important too. It seems to me that Cop26 is moving in the right direction and that there is a lot of energy and hope in Glasgow. At this point, many world leaders are leaving the city and it is up to their negotiators to lay down the details of the agreements and take realistic decisions about the implementation of them. At least, we can hope that these two agreements that have just been reached are an important step in the right direction”, the prelate concludes.
Valentina Bombelli