COP26:Progress,Challenges,and Outlook

The 26th Conference of the Parties(COP26)to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)was held in Glasgow a year later than scheduled,with expected outcomes achieved under a post-pandemic background.Based on the Issue-Actor-Mechanism Framework,this paper systematically evaluates the outcomes achieved at COP26 and analyzes the tendency of post-COP26 climate negotiations.Overall,with the concerted efforts of all parties,COP26 has achieved a balanced and inclusive package of outcomes and concluded six years of negotiations on the Paris Rulebook.It is fair to say that COP26 is another milestone in climate governance following the implementation of the Paris Agreement.Meanwhile,the Glasgow Climate Pact has cemented the consensus on a global commitment to accelerating climate action over the next decade and reached a breakthrough consensus on reducing coal,controlling methane,and halting deforestation.In the post-COP26 era,we still need to take concrete actions to implement the outcomes of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact,innovate ways to speed up CO_(2) emissions reduction,and continue to strive for breakthroughs in important issues such as finance,technology,adaptation,and collaboration.In addition to avoiding the escalation of international conflicts,we need to collectively and properly handle the relationship between energy security,carbon reduction,and development and facilitate the efforts of countries to achieve their Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),including climate-related goals.China will continue to maintain the existing multilateral mechanisms and processes for climate governance,unremittingly take concrete actions to address climate change,promote a domestic comprehensive green transition and global cooperation on carbon neutrality,and contribute constructively to global climate governance.

Flood risk assessment using the CV-TOPSIS method for the Belt and Road Initiative:an empirical study of Southeast Asia

Instruction:The countries along the Belt and Road Initiative remain high exposure and vulnerability to climate extremes.Southeast Asia,a significant part of the Belt and Road Initiative,suffers a lot from flood disasters.This study assessed the flood disaster risk from 1990–2015 in all 11 Southeast Asian countries.A model integrating the coefficient of variation approach and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method was introduced to analyze the flood disaster data.Considering that populations living in areas where elevation is below 5 m and land area where elevation is below 5 m have reached 11.86%and 3.54%(2015),respectively,the two indicators were opted for to propose new metrics for flood disaster risk assessment.Outcomes:Our findings show that the flood disaster risk in Southeast Asia appeared very high during most of the study period.Indonesia had an extremely high flood disaster risk,followed by Vietnam,whereas Laos,Malaysia,Brunei,and Timor Leste had lower flood risks.The model introduced in this paper is quite simple and easy to understand,providing accessible flood risk information for decision makers.Conclusion:The results we obtained have practical implications for land use and investment activities in Southeast Asia.