By: Sophia Rathleff
November 2nd 2021
Coming in strong for day 2 of the World Leaders summit, we saw action taken from both leaders and outside parties. Leaders (mostly) stayed on track with the main goals of the summit. We had a final address from Biden and day 2 saw the major pledges suggested in advance of the finance meetings of November 3rd.
Things to take note of today.
One, 128 countries, including Russia and China, signed the Glasgow Leaders’ declaration on forests and land use, to tackle deforestation. The declaration pledges financial, agricultural and economical advances to aid in the ceasing and reversing of deforestation.
Two, Biden made an address, finishing his visit to Glasgow, where he touched on multiple issues. He pledged to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, with over 80* countries joining the pledge. In addition, he discussed the Congress bill, currently in progress, to support the pledges he has made in the previous two days. Biden appears to be confident in the bill saying “I think we’ll get this done.” Then he went on to criticise China and Russia for not being there, forgetting other absent leaders in the process. Respectively, he calls China's decision to not be present a “big mistake” and, directly addressing Putin, says his approach has been unwilling and that “He has serious climate problems”.
Three, major talks on coal usage reduction are expected to continue over the next few days in light of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC)** being confirmed to be back on track. It is expected that talks, specifically with countries heavily reliant on coal usage (notably African countries), will continue over the next few days.
Four, more than 40 countries have signed the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda, pledging to make green technology a more affordable solution. It includes a massive funding drive and adaptable technology for differing nations.
Five, South Africa signed an $8.5 billion deal with the UK, US and EU to help aid the country's departure from coal usage. In addition, African countries are planning on spending $6bn a year, from tax revenues, on climate impacts.
Six, Jeff Bezos, notorious (former) Amazon CEO who recently just popped to space, pledged $2 bn towards restoring nature and food systems. The $2bn, from the Bezos Earth fund (excuse the irony), is part of his $10bn commitment to climate change action. In his address, he defended his journey with Blue Origin, which (granted) used ‘green Hydrogen’ that produces mostly water vapour but still has a carbon footprint due to construction and research. Bezos stated that his eccentric trip, made him realise the earth is “finite and fragile”, and made him more committed to the cause. Still, it makes people wonder, what's the rush to get out of here Bezos?
In conclusion, today was predicted to be a busy day, the information here is certainly not exhaustive. Smaller highlights include; the extension of protected areas in Ecuador, the President of Palau stating “You might as well bomb us” in reference to his countries declining state due to climate change and Greta Thunberg being filmed chanting “You can shove your climate crisis up your a***” (a strong message to the leaders inside). With many leaders heading home today, tomorrow starts the specific discussions, starting with finance.
*As of 3/11/21 8 am SGT
**The HAC is essentially the pledge for the 1.5 goals set for mid-century
Wednesday 3rd November
Wednesday is the finance day at the COP26 summit and we saw both public and private investors form the financial sector layout plans for financing the climate action pledges. The public sector is already involved through finance ministers who were at the forefront of today's discussion. However, the public sector has proven to be crucial to the climate action plan, with the CEO of EY telling CNBC “If the private sector is not involved we’re not going to get to 1.5 degrees, we’re not going to get anywhere near 1.5 degrees''.
Things to take away from today
One, in the address from Exchequer Rishi Sunak (UK) he announced that the UK plans to be the first net-zero aligned financial centre. This means financial firms will have to disclose their emissions, but net-zero will not be compulsory.
Two, in the same address Sunak announced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero, affectionately named GFANZ. This alliance has over 450 forms from 45 countries pledging over $130 trillion to develop the economy to back climate change pledges. However, many environmental groups have criticized announcements as they failed to end funding to fossil fuels.
Three, many developing countries have highlighted the importance of global finance. With new pledges to improve infrastructures, the discussion of funding for less wealthy states is likely to be continuous. The members of the Less Developed countries (LDC) group stated that getting access to funding for climate change, but other issues such as covid19, has been a “Huge issue”.
Four, Israel’s energy minister Karine Elharrar couldn't access the first meetings as the venue was not wheelchair accessible. She has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, but due to the venue's lack of accessibility, she couldn't get into the venue. She has since received an apology from Boris Johnson, though it brings the idea of climate change ableism to the spotlight for the first time.
In conclusion, today was a somewhat simple day for the summit. Deals were made and finance has been secured from and for high economy countries. However, the biggest takeaway from today was the disparity between the LDC group and high economic nations. Also, following discussions of ceasing fossil fuel funding, the lack of commitment has opened the summit up for heavy criticism.
Thursday 4th November - energy
With fossil fuels being the buzzword for energy this summit, today saw a variety of policies come into action. Coal was the main focus of the day, with more commitments coming into conversations, leading to criticism of the lack of discussions to do with oil and gas. Oil companies, especially, are continually aiming to expand revenue without recognition of their carbon footprint.
Things to take away from today
One, the president of the conference announced the new Global Clean Power Transition Statement. This aims to phase out coal for major economies in the 2030’w and the 2040s for smaller economies. The commitment had over 70 signatures, however this excluded major coal giants such as China and Japan.
Two, the issue of funding for less-developed nations was once again carried through conversation. Unsurprising, as they are going to need an estimated 5 to 10 times more funding than currently planned.
Three, Indonesia backs out of pledges made on Tuesday regarding deforestation, stating green action should not hinder their economic development.
Four, and IEA analysis shows that global warming has dipped below 2 degrees celsius, 1.8, for the first time. So, granting success in COP26, the world may be back on track for the Paris Agreement.
Five, On the other side of the summit, environment groups are ramping up their efforts, including a new group Insulate Britain that has proven itself to be controversial. They have been blocking Parliament Square and sitting in front of cars, blocking roads.. They have discredited themselves by being a nuisance to regular British citizens by disrupting their daily lives. Video Reports have shown people missing job interviews and being blocked from getting to work, as a result, there have been many rage-filled encounters with drivers.
In conclusion, today was filled with backpedalling and disappointing outcomes. Nations have been pledging on coal for years without solid implementation, however, we are hopeful there may be some action coming from this. Without agreements made on oil and gas, there wasn't anything new in terms of subject areas. Tomorrow, we move onto Youth and Public empowerment day.
Friday 5th November - youth and public empowerment
Well, with Friday being the youth and public empowerment day at this year's COP26, activists certainly didn't disappoint. Today we heard young voices take centre stage alongside the geriatric. With not much foreword, we'll move on to the small amounts of pledges and the copious amounts of, what is quite frankly incredible, insults hurled at world leaders.
Things to take away from today:
One, thousands of young people marched on Glasgow to protest the current climate situation. Children were seen with parents, teachers and classmates, demanding more of the world leaders.
Two, reports showed that the emissions rate of 1% are set to be 30 times greater than they need to be to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees. The sheer irony of earlier speeches from the world's most famous members of the 1% is in full display now.
Three more reports came through and they conveyed that we are currently on track by -63.3% for the 50% cuts needed to prevent catastrophic events from occurring. Yes, that's right, the world is on track for a 13.7% rise instead of any cuts, giving weight to the various comments by youth activists to come.
Four, the $100bn in funding promised from richer nations, previously set for 2023, has been rescheduled to be ready for 2022.
Five, Greta Thunberg made a comment summarising most of youth activists thoughts and feelings. She stated COP26 has been a “failure” and a “PR event”, to say the least.
Six, introduced as John, the Filipino activist gave strong words about the technicalities of cop26. He said the summit had “devolved into a celebration of pointless promises by world leaders, patting themselves on the back, all the while sacrificing millions in the Global South on the altar of capitalism and imperialism.” (Holmes, O - The Guardian.)
In conclusion, today certainly saw a focus on youth empowerment however it still raises the question, how willing are world leaders to listen? Tomorrow's focalization is nature where there will be a focus on sustainability and recovery.
Saturday 6th November - nature
Saturday saw chaos, to put it simply. The focus within the summit was agriculture and, granted, there were important decisions made. However the attention was on the protests happening around the world, but especially around Glasgow. With that said:
Things to take away from today
One, Idris Elba, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Goodwill Ambassador and British actor, took to the podium. He highlighted the importance of small scale farming that produces 80% of the worlds food. Alongside Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, they highlighted the hunger that is being and will continue to be caused if these issues are not addressed.
Two, 45 countries have pledged to make the swap to sustainable farming.s a large number of global emissions come from agriculture, prompting the world leaders to act on the issue.
Three, people have contradicted Thunberg's statement regarding COP26 as a “failure”, saying that having this outlook will do more harm than good. Essentially, the argument is that giving up gives power to the people who benefit from the fossil fuel industry. The conference has just started, so disregarding it so soon undermines the objectives and the ability to make a change.
Four, an estimated 100,000 youth activists took to the streets of Scotland for the second day in a row. Saturday saw a multitude of environmental groups taking drastic action, mostly on the George V bridge. Scientists rebellion first tried to glue themselves to the bridge, later resolving to lock themselves to it. On the other hand, the police officially got involved, blocking protesters' routes and making arrests. However, they were overwhelmed by the number of protesters filling the streets.
In conclusion, protests happening from Scotland to Paris have had the world captivated by the power of young voices. In the coming week, the world is sure to see just how much power these actions hold. Tomorrow is a rest day, but stay tuned for any updates.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/02/what-happened-at-cop26-today-day-two-at-a-glance
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