Wednesday 17 November 2021

Newspaper column 17 November - Looking back at COP26

Over the weekend on Remembrance Sunday it was an honour, as always to join the civic events in St Austell and Newquay to pay tribute to and remember those who serve and have served in our armed forces in past and present conflicts.

After last year’s scaled back formal services because of the pandemic, it was good to stand with veterans and people from across our community and take part in these acts of remembrance. Thank you to the Royal British Legion and all involved in their organisation.

This past weekend also saw the close of the United Nations Climate Change Conference Summit COP26, which was held in Glasgow.

As the conference came to its conclusion, members signed the Glasgow Climate Pact, which commits countries to phase down unabated coal, supports a just transition for developing countries and action to tackle loss and damage, and agrees for the first time a common timeframe and method for national commitments on emissions reductions.

The pact signed seeks to phase down unabated coal power and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, cutting emissions as we move towards low emission energy. The Pact calls on countries to accelerate efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards a just transition.

As well as this, the pact also commits to raise $100 billion annually for climate finance through to 2025, helping developing countries tackle climate change. The Pact urges developed countries to fully deliver on the $100 billion goal urgently and through to 2025, and emphasises the importance of transparency in the implementation of their pledges.

The pact also commits countries to return next year with a more ambitious 2030 emissions reductions target in line with the 1.5C target, ensuring we maintain crucial momentum on climate action this decade. The UK will continue to push for greater action on reducing emissions and supporting developing countries with finance and access to new green technology over the next year of our COP Presidency, before Egypt take on the mantle.

It also signs up more countries to be Net Zero, protecting our planet for future generations. At least 90 per cent of the global economy is now covered by net zero commitments, up from 30 per cent when the UK took on the COP presidency in 2019.

This Pact builds on the progress we have made on coal, cars and trees throughout the summit. 65 countries have now committed to phasing out the use of coal power. Over 30 countries and some of the world’s largest car makers have committed to work together to make all new car sales zero emission globally by 2040, and by 2035 in leading markets, building on the UK’s commitment to end the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. More than 130 leaders, representing over 90 per cent of the world’s forests, pledged at COP26 to end deforestation by 2030, backed by almost £14 billion of public and private funding.

There is still a huge amount more to do in the coming years and the agreements reached are not perfect, but we are now in a much better position to achieve these goals, both short and long term, to tackle climate change, than we were in before the conference.

As always, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance. Please do get in touch if I can help – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk