COP26 - what happened?
We followed COP26 closely, with our team watching with a keen eye on how the world leaders will make a difference. There was a lot to cover, here’s our take on what we heard from November 1st to 12th.
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COP26 Recap
It has been a fascinating last two weeks as world leaders, activists, industry representatives, environmental specialists and ever questioning journalists attended COP26. The media coverage of this conference has ranged from reporting historical agreements to address climate change to declaring it to be an absolute failure for cementing timely action. Whichever side of the conversation you land on, it can be easily agreed that notable moments took place.
Now, following a two-week-long conference can be tricky when you have to balance factors like work, kids, meal planning, attending Zumba class and keeping up on the sudden influx of Christmas movies on Netflix.
The shortest of short versions of it can be whittled down to the three Fs that dominated COP26: fossil fuels, funding and frustration. Fossil fuels were a major topic in that countries from Canada to Costa Rica made pledges to lower emissions by either no longer tapping new oil reserves to phasing out coal completely to de-financing from the industry to reach net-zero. The topic of funding teetered between nations and organizations vowing millions to billions to the cause to developing countries and indigenous communities demanding financial support from richer countries as they have already been hit hard by the severe changes in climate and richer countries have a larger carbon footprint. And finally, with thousands upon thousands taking to the streets to protest the lack of immediate action from their political leaders, frustration was ever-present. A sentiment that was echoed inside the conference as youth activists from around the world took the stage and chided their leadership for treating COP26 as a networking event to spew empty promises. As we said, it’s been a fascinating few weeks.
We have cultivated a highlights list below for you to peruse, but the bottom line is there were some monumental pledges and yet maddeningly little that is readily happening. COP26 was a platform for voices from all corners of the planet to address the climate crisis, and it is not surprising that not all left it with a smile. But with the words of our leaders on record, we can be informed and know what we do and do not support in the mission to combat climate change.
*Nov 1st, 2021:
- Justin Trudeau caps oil and gas emissions today to start reducing tomorrow - Sir David Attenborough emphasizes that climate change is not only a problem of instability but of inequality
- Greta Thunberg Not Invited to COP26
*Nov 2nd, 2021:
- Canada joins what Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls a “landmark commitment” for ending deforestation for 85% of the world’s forest by 2030.
- The Duke of Cambridge’s winner of the Earthshot Prize, 15-year-old Vinisha Umashankar, receives a standing ovation at COP26
- Billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos speak at the ‘Clean Technology and Sustainable Solutions Summit’ to make pledges to climate change
*Nov 3rd, 2021:
- U.K Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announces UK’s plan to be the first-ever net-zero-aligned financial center
- Vows to halt all financing in fossil fuels overseas in developing countries made by 20 countries and financial institutions
- Leonardo and the Prince of Wales speak with Stella McCartney at her exhibit of vegan and lab-grown mushroom leather products
*Nov 4th, 2021:
- COP26 Brings Global Pledges To Phase Out Coal
- Canada’s Contribution to the coal industry outside its borders brought into question - Youth climate activists frustrated with world leaders at UNICEF panel
*Nov 5th, 2021:
- Thousands of protestors storm through Glasglow in mass youth protest - US Climate Envoy John Kerry announces that the $100billion promised to developing countries will be delivered a year early in 2022.
- 23 countries made climate education pledges to move sustainability awareness into the curriculum
*Nov 6th, 2021:
- Protests in Glasglow double to tens of thousands for the second consecutive day while protests take place globally.
- The power of celebrity highlights the importance of small-scale farmers thanks to Idris Elba - 45 countries take the pledge to sustainable farming
*Nov 8th, 2021:
- Obama speaks at COP26 to emphasize that climate change is a non-partisan issue. - Hundreds of millions of dollars pledged to climate adaptation funding.
- CleanBC wins COP26 award for its two-pronged approach to reducing carbon emissions in British Columbia.
*Nov 9th, 2021:
- 11-foot tall puppet ‘Little Amal’ visits COP26 for discussions of climate change and gender. - UK’s Chief Minister of Science Rallies for climate technologies to be more accessible. - European astronaut Tim Peake urges collaboration in engineering a greener future. *Nov 10th, 2021:
- European astronaut Tim Peake urges collaboration in engineering a greener future. - Two of the worlds greatest emitters, China and the US, agree to collaborate on climate change
- The ‘Clydebank Declaration’ has countries seeking ‘green shipping corridors’. *Nov 11th, 2021:
- Denmark & Costa Rica Co-Chair Launched of ‘Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance’. - UN Secretary António Guterres chastises the summit for lack of urgency. - COP26 President Alok Sharma discusses the ongoing struggles of putting the US and China agreement on paper
*Nov 12th, 2021:
- Saudi Arabia, India and Russia are among the countries that are pushing back on the wording of the COP26 agreement that details phasing out fossil fuels.
- Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Philip Davis, deems the commitments made at COP26 “have no teeth” and are more so aspirational instead of actionable. - Draft of COP26 agreement is awaiting to be supported by all participating countries, leaving negotiations to go past the 6 pm deadline.
- The key points of the draft are:
1. “The phase-out of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies or fossil fuels.
2. “Urgently and significantly scale up their provision of climate finance (for richer countries)”
3. “Prepare an informal summary report...make it available to the COP at its 27th season”
4. “Meet any outstanding pledges under the Convention as soon as possible”.
