What is COP26?
COP26 also known as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in the city of Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021. COP is a yearly conference, and this year will be attended by over 190 world leaders. Though these conferences take place every year (with the exception of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak) but COP26 is set to be the most influential international summit to date due to the sudden surge in priority and urgency to take climate action!
Back in 2015 COP21 took place in Paris, France and the famous Paris Agreement was born. Countries signing the agreement was confirmation of taking drastic climate action. The agreement was to be evaluated and updated very 5 years, Hence why COP26 is due to be one of the most significant conferences yet.
Where will COP26 be held?
The 26th climate change conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, due to their commitment to sustainability and ambitious climate action. Glasgow was declared a ‘Global Green City’ in 2020 due to their incredible target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and most importantly having net zero emissions by 2045!
What is the overall aim?
There are 2 main aims for COP26 and they include:
1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
Countries are being asked to take drastic action and create ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets. Countries targets must and will include the accelerated phase out of coal and fossil fuels, curtailing of deforestation, an increased switch in hybrid and electric technology and most importantly investment in renewables - hello OYA Energy!
2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
The world can already see the devastating effects of climate change, so at COP26 leaders will work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to protect and restore ecosystems and build defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives.
In order to achieve these 2 goals we must mobilise finance in order to provide the trillions of pounds in private and public sector finance required to secure global net zero. Most importantly all countries must work together, as this is a global crisis, hence why it is so vitally important that all countries are on board.