An Introduction to COP26 - ScienceGrrl Glasgow

Image from https://www.spc.int/fr/a-l-agenda/un-climate-change-conference-unfccc-cop-26

The climate is currently in a state of emergency. Extreme weather events such as floods and wildfires, together with air pollution and many other climate change impacts, are negatively affecting tens of millions of people across the world. It has never been more urgent for world leaders to come together to agree on an action plan for the mitigation, prevention, and adaptation to climate impacts.

As many of you will no doubt already be aware, this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is currently being held in Glasgow. Over the next two weeks, delegates from countries all over the world will meet for formal negotiations and informal consultations on tackling climate change. Read on for a brief overview of the conference and some helpful links if you would like to read more.

What are the main goals of COP26?

I’m sure by now a lot of you will have heard of the aims to reach global net-zero by 2050 and to limit the global average temperature increase since the pre-industrial era to 1.5°C. But what does this actually mean? Since pre-industrial levels, the global average temperature has increased by around 1°C. This, in itself, has caused many devastating events such as the recent wildfires in the USA and Australia. To prevent the intensification of such events, science dictates that we should aim to restrict the temperature increase to below 1.5°C. To achieve this, we should be producing less carbon than we take out of the atmosphere. This is popularly referred to as achieving net-zero. For this reason, countries are being encouraged to come up with carbon emission reduction targets to be reached by 2030 involving, for example, the transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles.

The other main goals are:

Helping countries negatively affected by climate change to adapt to protect their communities and natural habitats.
Mobilising finance to achieve the other goals of COP26.
Working together to rise to the challenges of climate change.

What are the zones of activity in COP26?

There are two zones of activity in Glasgow for COP26 – the Blue Zone and the Green Zone. The Blue Zone is the centre of delegate negotiations and consultations. Anyone in the Blue Zone will either be part of a national delegation, work for the United Nations or be a member of the media or non-profit observer organisation.

In contrast, the Green Zone is intended for the general public to partake in a wide range of events such as workshops, art exhibitions, and installations. There will also be presentations, technology demonstrations and musical performances which are open for everyone to attend.

Keep an eye out on the ScienceGrrl Glasgow blog for summaries of the events of COP26 over the next two weeks.