While some observers say the COP26 agreement represents the “beginning of a breakthrough”, some countries in Africa and Latin America have felt that progress has not been sufficient. Last summer, I wrote that a confluence of events such as the US presidential election, massive spending on COVID-19 stimulus measures, and the upcoming negotiations in Glasgow 2020-2021 would make them the most crucial years in the fight against climate change to date, during which decisions made would decide whether the world will surpass the 1.5°C mark that scientists say: that it will trigger the worst effects of climate change. In 2020, the UK obtained the approval of the COP Bureau to postpone and postpone COP26 to 2021, but work continued. Us: The COP26 negotiations would never cause the world to warm up to 1.5°C on its own. In fact, the main reason why this conference should be so important is a requirement in the Paris Agreement that countries submit new national climate commitments to the COP in Glasgow. The hope was that this year`s conference would serve as a common goal to get countries to do their own work to find a way to reduce national emissions between the Paris and Glasgow conferences. But in the weeks leading up to Glasgow, it became clear that these efforts would be insufficient. A report by the UN Panel of Experts on Climate Change, released in October ahead of the conference, found that commitments made in the run-up to COP26 would not bring the world closer to the 1.5°C target; The UNFCCC predicted that they would mean that the globe would likely experience an average temperature increase of up to 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels. A number of announcements during the conference – ranging from vague net zero commitments to toothless deforestation promises – theoretically lowered that number, but many analysts weren`t sure that all of these commitments would actually lead to real politics. More than 1,000 universities in 68 countries have made a number of new commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and change their impact on nature, including a new initiative for nature-positive universities. Over the past 12 months, academic institutions around the world have joined the United Nations` Race to Zero campaign and pledged to reduce their carbon emissions to zero by 2050 at the latest. The initiative was led by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges and Second Nature with support from UNEP. But it`s the first explicit mention of fossil fuels in a UN climate agreement.

World leaders made a number of climate commitments at COP26, culminating in an agreement to strengthen 2030 emissions reduction targets by the end of next year. If you`re wondering why countries would do it next year if they didn`t do it this year, you`re not alone. Given the already profound urgency of climate change, it`s hard to imagine what else the needle could move. Jennifer Morgan, director of Greenpeace International, says the pressure on governments of activists and youth will only grow. “After that meeting, 1.5 is barely alive,” Morgan says. “What would give me confidence is the power of people that exists all over the world – and it`s only growing. This is an opportunity to hold governments accountable for the promises they have made on the world stage. » Get the latest stories, special reports and in-depth analysis on skynews.com/cop26 The result also solidifies the global agreement to accelerate action on climate change this decade.

There are also fears, particularly from indigenous communities and civil society, that the agreement – which calls on 197 countries to report on their progress towards more climate ambitions next year at COP27 in Egypt – will be too little and too late. Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate told leaders: “We are drowning in promises. Only immediate and drastic measures will lift us out of the abyss. It has made promises on methane emissions, the transition to clean energy and decarbonisation, and plans to implement them in the “critical decade of the 2020s”. At the COP26 summit, a new global agreement – the Glasgow Climate Pact – was reached. The agreement – although not legally binding – will set the global climate change agenda for the next decade: the COP conclusions also contain mixed messages. On the one hand, countries almost everywhere have signaled that fossil fuels are not the future. On the other hand, they struggle to explain how the necessary transition to renewable energy will unfold – both in terms of technical details of reducing emissions and impact on people and communities. “Is [the agreement] enough to keep global warming at 1.5°?” Shaw said. “Honestly, I can`t say I think that`s the case, but we must never give up.” But for rich countries to earn their less prosperous counterparts with such programs, greater efforts would likely be needed to build trust.

In the final days of the Glasgow talks, negotiations largely revolved around rich countries providing sufficient financing to poor countries to adapt to the effects of climate change and to cover the inevitable damage and financial losses caused by increased droughts, floods and other climate-related events. As representatives of the poorest and most vulnerable countries have made clear, the historical emissions of rich countries have largely fuelled their wealth accumulation, while other parts of the world have been exposed to the effects of these emissions. The final agreement includes a call to double the financing of the adjustment, as well as a promise to continue working on the issue of loss and damage. The draft COP agreement also changes the wording of coal – from calling on countries to “accelerate the phasing out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies” to phasing out “unwindled coal-fired power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.” Most of the commitments made at the COP must be monitored on their own. Kerry described it as an “imperative to cooperate,” while China`s chief negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, said there was “more agreement between China and the United States than divergence.” The deal was also signed by cities, automakers and financial institutions, but not by the governments of three of the world`s largest auto markets — the United States, Germany and China. Sharma apologized for “the way the process has evolved,” adding that he understands that some delegations are “deeply disappointed” that stronger language has not been included in the final agreement. On Saturday, as COP26 draws to a close, delegates unanimously endorsed the Glasgow Climate Pact, an update to the Paris Agreement that targets subsidies for coal-fired power plants and fossil fuels and calls on countries to create more aggressive climate plans next year. These new agreements represent a huge step forward in the international climate debate – but few delegates were willing to celebrate openly. Statement after statement at the closing sessions, negotiators from countries around the world indicated that they accepted the text in a “spirit of compromise” while deploring the fact that the agreement did not go far enough.

“The text represents the least worst result,” New Zealand Climate Minister James Shaw told his counterparts on Friday. The agreement committed to significantly increase financing to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate change and switch to clean energy. Over the past two weeks, many “smaller” but equally inspiring commitments have been made, including one of the 11 countries that formed the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA). Ireland, France, Denmark and Costa Rica, as well as some subnational governments, have created this first such alliance to set an end date for domestic oil and gas exploration and production. COP26 was the time when countries reviewed climate commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. A lot has happened in Glasgow in the last couple of weeks. Here is a review of all the important agreements. However, despite these concerns, some progress has undoubtedly been made.

A roadmap has been developed for updating Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which, according to the analysis of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), do not meet the 1.5°C targets. For the first time, at a COP conference, there was an explicit plan to reduce the use of coal – which is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions. UNEP is at the forefront of supporting the Paris Agreement`s goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2°C, aiming – of course – at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. To this end, UNEP has developed a six-sector solution. The six-sector solution is a roadmap for cross-sectoral emission reductions in line with The Commitments of the Paris Agreement and in the pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are energy; Industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; Transport, buildings and cities. For full coverage of COP26, watch Climate Live on Sky Channel 525 and follow the live web coverage and app with our dedicated live blog. We built on the commitment of all countries and partners to achieve a positive outcome at COP26 and beyond.

• Steel: Near-zero steel is the preferred choice in global markets, with efficient use and near-zero steel production established and growing in all regions The COP26 climate negotiations agreed to push countries to strengthen their emission reduction targets by the end of next year to limit dangerous warming. Letter to the Group Chairs and Heads of Delegation on the Chair Plan for Informal Work in 2021 (20 January 2021) Letter from the COP25 President, the COP26 Executive Secretary and the Chairs of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies to the Parties prior to the May-June 2021 Climate Change Conference (27 May 2021) In total, 34 countries have committed to stop selling non-electric vehicles by at least 2040, including several leading markets that have committed to do so by 2035. .