COP26

Combined solutions to climate change and gender inequality exist – women leaders, new and emerging, just need more support.

At the COP 21 United Nations climate change conference in Paris, governments agreed that mobilizing stronger and more ambitious climate action is urgently required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Cop26 provided an opportunity for businesses to present their plans and discuss with their peers, value chains, policy makers and civil society what it takes and what is needed. They all recognize that this cannot be done alone. Their message is loud and clear: Collaboration, collaboration and collaboration, says Maria Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition.

We need to recognize the contributions of women as decision makers, stakeholders, educators, and experts across borders and sectors to drive long-term solutions. It’s time we realize women are the missing piece in our global efforts to protect and regenerate our planet, argues Mariah Levin & Gwendoline de Ganay, World Economic Forum.

With 154 events from 80 partners and featuring 176 participating organisations and 21 major sponsors, the first ever COP Resilience Hub brought together a community of state and non-state actors in an unprecedented collaboration. 

At COP26, leading members of the Marrakech Partnership submitted to the UNFCCC a commitment to act now to drive further momentum in the number of credible, transparent, science-aligned, high ambition climate targets.

“To ensure commitments are followed through, our work ahead focuses on turning pledges into near term plans and enhancing accountability for delivering on commitments through better tracking of progress and impact.” A message from High Level Champions for Climate Action, Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Munoz.

Natural climate solutions are the key for the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience. They can take us beyond net zero, to actually achieve drawdown. With all of the cascading benefits to people and the planet, it is clear that climate finance should support nature-based climate solutions, says Mamta Mehra, Senior Fellow, Land Use & Research Program Officer & Chad Frischmann, Senior Director, Drawdown Solutions, Project Drawdown

The Champions have worked over the past year to enhance integrity and track the progress and impact of commitments made by businesses, investors, cities, states and regions and initiatives. A summary of this work, including metrics and tools to measure the efficacy of actions to boost resilience, can be found in an accompanying factsheet, also published today.

COP26 is drawing to a close and the conditions for political leadership are set: society wants it, business is counting on it, the money is there, and cities will benefit.

Today, at the mandated UN High-Level Event for Global Climate Action – “Racing to a Better World”- the High-Level Climate Champions, Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, formally report to Parties on the progress made by non-state actors, and set-out the five-year plan — Improved Marrakech Partnership for Enhancing Ambition — to accelerate delivery during this decisive decade.

A new Camda declaration has been announced that represents a collaboration between key organizations and individuals working on both existing data disclosure platforms and emerging technologies that can support climate action analysis, including blockchain, satellite imagery and machine learning.

It’s Transport day at COP26 and technology is transforming how we move by land, air, and sea.

In her poem, 11-year-old Emtithal Mahmoud watches as her neighbour’s home crumbles into flood waters in a country “already locked in turmoil”.

Miami has one – so does Athens. Now Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, has appointed Africa’s first chief heat officer – a mother on a mission to shield her city and her kids from the chaos of climate change.

“Scaling up NCS is a crucial step if we are to address these challenges, reach net zero and facilitate the transition to a future where we live well, within planetary boundaries,” argues Giulia Carbone, Director, Natural Climate Solutions Alliance.

It’s Gender, Science and Innovation day at week two of COP26 and transformation is accelerating across carbon intensive industries

“We clearly have a different problem, a leadership problem, that is now causing us to not move forward on the rescue of our ecosystems. When analysing the leadership structures of COPs since their inception, it becomes very clear, that the missing element from these conferences have been women.” Bianca Pitt, Co Founder, SHE Changes Climate.

At COP26, the campaign will be announcing new Partners who will deliver resilience transformations: stand alone actions that advance the campaigns mission, focused on specific barriers to resilience.

Founder and Director of Valence Solutions, Dr Gabrielle Walker helps us imagine, in parallel with rapid reductions, how we can take CO2 out of the air at the scale needed to achieve net zero in an effective, affordable and equitable way and start reversing climate change.

With a remit set out in law to be “the guardian of the interests of future generations in Wales”, Sophie Howe is the world’s only Future Generations Commissioner. At COP26 she discusses how her interventions have secured fundamental changes to land use planning policy, major transport schemes and Government policy on housing – ensuring that decisions taken today are fit for the future.

The UN High-Level Climate Champions join Race to Resilience Partners today in calling for efforts to protect the most climate-vulnerable communities to double in the decade, with a focus on the most exposed, vulnerable, indigeneous, populous and large regions of the Global South.

Regions, cities, financial institutions, countries, and sectors from across society are stepping up to build the resilience of those most vulnerable to climate change.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the Premier of British Columbia John Horgan introduce a regional partnership called the Pacific Coast Collaborative to advance climate policies, build a clean energy economy and infrastructure, and increase their state’s resilience to impacts already occurring.

The Race to Resilience has developed a metrics framework for non state actors to verify the climate resilience impact of their actions. This new metrics framework, for the first time, allows non state actors to report action, and quantify and verify impact under a common framework.

To keep 1.5°C alive, annual CO2 emissions in 2030 need to be reduced by further 22 Gt; at the end of COP26 Week one, commitments (if delivered) would close that gap by 9 Gt, leaving ~13 Gt to go, says new analysis.

It’s Nature Day at COP26 and the message is beginning to ring louder that reversing nature loss by 2030 is a requirement for net zero by 2050.

The initiative, with farmers at its heart, will work with over 500 million farmers to apply regenerative production methods and transform agricultural systems, as well as ensure roughly USD $60 billion per year is deployed to finance the transition.

Massive Attack has commissioned the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research to produce a roadmap for live music, setting out emissions reductions that would make the sector compatible with Paris/1.5C targets.

There is no viable route to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and building resilience without urgently protecting, managing and restoring nature, argues Nature4Climate Coalition Director, James Lloyd.

Legendary marine biologist, Chair and President of Mission Blue, and National Geographic Explorer, Dr Sylvia Earle explains what it will take to restore the health of our oceans after decades of deep decline.

Ocean-based solutions not only mitigate climate change but play a large role in climate adaptation. Opinion by Project Drawdown’s Emilia Jankowska, Mamta Mehra and Chad Frischmann.

Research shows that halving emissions within the 2020s is possible, while youth and parents step up calls for countries to protect and better manage the ocean and water  and end fossil fuels finance. 

Recognizing the ocean-climate connection and the need for youth calls for ocean and climate action to be amplified, Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s Youth Policy Advisory Council solicited video submissions from young, regional environmental leaders.

A coalition of public and private partners has launched the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) with the ambition to mobilise USD$625 million for coral reef conservation over the next decade.

A number of ambitious emissions reductions targets were announced by the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework (S4CA) this week at COP26.

“We urge you to not neglect the ocean, because without the ocean our fight against the climate crisis would be incomplete and ineffective. We need to come together to protect both land and sea, in a collective manner that will help sustain our planet for the generations to come.”

In this video, Future Labs imagines future of universally accessible climate-smart healthcare, where we have lowered emissions from the healthcare sector and improved both quality and delivery of healthcare.

“By combining local efforts to protect critical habitat with effective co-management for coastal fisheries, we can ensure food security, support the productive economy, safeguard livelihoods, and contribute to achieving national and global sustainable development and climate change goals,” says Rocky Sanchez Tirona is the Managing Director of Fish Forever at Rare.

The High Level Climate Champions and the ocean community have signed the Ocean for Climate Declaration: a call to governments and non-state actors to scale up ocean-based climate solutions and action.

Investing and nurturing in inclusivity and equity is a central strategy to building resilient societies that can navigate turbulence and change, argue Albert Norström, Robert Blasiak, Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, Kanae Tokunaga and Colette Wabnitz.

Archie Crofton and Sarah Humphrys from education-to-action organisation AimHi Earth explain why climate literacy is fundamental to tackling the climate and nature crisis locally and globally.

Political leaders, civil society, academics and non state actors will come together tomorrow to set out the immediate steps the world must take if we are to make 1.5C a reality.

Energy day at COP: A rapid transformation of the global energy system is underway and accelerating.

Tzeporah Berman, Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, explains why “world leaders need to stop dancing around the harsh reality that fossil fuels are the main driver of the climate crisis and publicly endorse the need for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

Real economy leaders joined Heads of State on stage at COP26 yesterday to celebrate the centrality of business, finance, and civil society to deliver the promise of the Paris Agreement.

UN Race to Zero and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) – a net zero alliance responsible for more than $130 trillion in assets in 40 countries across the financial sector, today publishes its Net Zero Financing Roadmaps.

“Africa’s strength comes from its unity. A continent that is vibrant, fast-growing, energetic and diverse. And, a key player in showing the way to a low carbon future.” Dr. Amar Inamdar, Managing Director of the KawiSafi Ventures Fund, on the vast opportunities that come with investing in Africa.

The race is on for private finance towards net-zero emissions by 2050 and new partnerships are set to drive exponential growth in resilience investments.

Commissioned by the UN High-Level Climate Action Champions, new research with support from Vivid Economics breaks down the numbers behind the where, who and how of the trillions of investments required to meet the net zero goal.

Today, at COP26 in Glasgow, 42 countries launched the Breakthrough Agenda  – a commitment to work together internationally this decade to accelerate the development and deployment of the clean technologies and sustainable solutions needed to meet our Paris Agreement goals, ensuring they are affordable and accessible for all.  

Over 40 world leaders have backed and signed up to the new Breakthrough Agenda, representing more than 70% of the world’s economy and every region.

Regions, cities, investors, businesses and governments are stepping up to build resilience in the most at-risk communities and reverse biodiversity loss within the 2020s.

On the second day of COP26 real economy leaders join Heads of State to launch new partnerships that will catalyze finance and climate solutions in Africa and Small Island Developing States, and help half a billion farmers to implement regenerative farming practices this decade.

More than 30 leading financial institutions, collectively with over US$ 8.7 trillion in assets under management have committed to tackle agricultural commodity-driven deforestation as part of broader efforts to drive the global shift towards sustainable production and nature-based solutions.  

The Africa Green Finance Coalition (AGFC) will help bring African countries together to pool resources, share learning and create a pathway for increased flows of green investment capital to the continent.

COP26 Finance is on November 3. See our COP26 Finance Day Guide events covering the UK Presidency Programme, Climate Action Zone Programme and Green Horizon Summit.

It’s time we stop focusing so much on the cascade of destruction that climate change may bring, and start talking about the cascading benefits, argues Chad Frischmann, Senior Director, Drawdown Solutions, Project Drawdown.

The financial industry is a critical enabler of efforts to decarbonize the global economy. Supported and underpinned by strong policy action, every company, bank, insurer, and investor will need to adjust their business models, develop credible plans for the transition to a net zero-carbon, climate resilient future, and then implement those plans.

Subscribe to the High-Level Champions’ daily COP26 newsletter for a one-stop round-up of everything you need to know, each and every day in Glasgow. 

This year’s UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, marks the 26th time since 1995 that world leaders have gathered to confront global warming. But the realization that industrial activity was causing climate change, and discussions about what to do about it, began much earlier.

On the first day of COP26, “Nature’s Baton”, the symbol of Relay4Nature, will be passed from Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, to Lord Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister for Pacific and the Environment.

If we are serious about achieving the dual goals of enhancing access to modern energy services and combating climate change in the long term, all stakeholders need to take decisive action. For lasting change, young people can be an important part of the solution, argues Sarah Hambly, Partnership and Communications Manager, Energy Saving Trust, co-Secretariat, Efficiency for Access.

Rapid phase-out of emissions from coal power, which so far have been the single largest source of global temperature increase, is one of the first and most critical steps the world must take to deliver on the 1.5-degree goal.

The COP26 Finance Day Action Zone event will highlight how actors across the global financial system are taking near-term action towards net zero by 2050 consistent with 1.5C and are committed to implement and accelerate the transition.  

From oyster die-offs and coral reef bleaching, to marine heat waves and harmful algal blooms, coastal communities around the world are feeling the effects of ocean acidification. A leading group of ocean experts discuss the significance of investing in SDG Target 14.3.

This year’s Climate Conference in Glasgow will feature a new Resilience Hub led by non-state actors from business, investors, civil society, academia, cities and regions.

“There are some difficult, but critically important changes that can happen only with your leadership. The most critical of these is stopping harmful agricultural subsidies, which do not work for the farmer, society at large, nor our Mother Earth,” Farmer & CEO, European Carbon Farmers, Mateusz Ciasnocha’s letter to world leaders.

“We will all be watching to see what you will do to promote life, or whether you will promote death and destruction” – founder and exectuive director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, Catherine Coleman Flower’s letter to world leaders.

“In 2009, I was in my first semester in college when typhoon Ketsana struck the Philippines and nearly took my life. Many would look at supertyphoon Haiyan in 2013 as the turning point for climate action in my country,” climate campaigner from the Philippines, John Leo Algo’s letter to leaders.

We need a new generation of financial backers from institutional investors to family offices, and from banks to insurers to put capital to work in the ocean, write Chip Cunliffe and Karen Sack, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance.

“I’m not certain how much the natural world will have changed but I am certain that my children or grandchildren will ask me, who did this?” Kenyan climate activist, Elizabeth Wathuti’s letter to world leaders.

“To the leaders of the developing countries, including my own, I would like to say: be bold! Show to the world your vision of how you want to transform your communities in order to survive AND thrive post-pandemic and amid continuous and exacerbated climate threats” — Vladislav Kaim, UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisor on Climate Change.

“We have to address who is leading, and how we are leading, to usher in transformation more quickly and more fully than we’re seeing right now,” Dr Katharine Wilkinson on gender inequality, culture, imagination, and the good and the bad of net zero commitments.

Dr Elizabeth Hausler, Founder and CEO of Build Change, an organization that prevents housing loss caused by disasters, explains why everyone, from state to non-state actors, must drive the demand for resilient housing.

The solutions to the great 21st century challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss become clearer if we view them through the ocean’s blue lens, argues Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean.

Alok Sharma said COP26 will be the world’s best chance of building a cleaner, greener future and “our last hope of keeping 1.5 degrees alive”.

Ensuring that these countries are empowered, mobilized and adequately supported is a matter of climate and economic justice.

As we celebrate Earth Day and inch closer to COP26, 17 of the world’s greatest environmentalists – scientists, guardians of the planet, leaders, pioneers, activists, adventurers and ambassadors – reflect on their hopes for its outcome.