COP26 kicked off in Glasgow earlier this week, bringing world leaders together to talk about our climate crisis. It’s the biggest climate event of the last five years as nations try to limit global temperature rises.
Earlier this year we explored what might be on the agenda for COP26. But lets take a step back for a moment and answer a few basic questions. Like “What is a COP?” and “Why is everyone talking about this one?”
Check out our video below and get the full transcript.
What is a COP?
‘COP’ stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’, which is a fancier way of saying a meeting. The United Nations, or the UN, organize COPs to bring global leaders together to talk about climate change. Each year a different nation takes on the Presidency role of COP and gets to host the summit. This year, the UK has a special role as COP26 is currently taking place in Glasgow, It’s the 26th time leaders have been brought together, hence why this year’s meeting is referred to as COP26.
What’s so significant about this one?
To understand why this year’s summit is so important we must look back at another COP, COP21, which took place in Paris in 2015. This summit saw every country in the world agree to limit global temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius, aiming for 1.5 degrees. This is referred to as ‘The Paris Agreement’ and has guided climate change policy for the last 6 years. Whilst these temperature changes seem small the impacts are huge. Even with 1.5 degrees of warming we will see more frequent heatwaves, extreme weather events like tornados, flooding and famine as crops fail.
At this COP leaders agreed to update the plan every five years, however with COP26 being delayed a year because of the Pandemic, 2021 is the year we evaluate our progress.
Whilst lots of steps have been taken globally, these haven’t come close to limiting global temperature rises. Many experts see COP26 as our last chance to agree targets that would help us avoid catastrophic climate change and the loss of many lives and livelihoods.
What does this mean for me?
The decisions made at COP26 will impact our daily lives, as governments make significant changes to our laws, economy and more that will reduce emissions and secure a future for our planet. It’s now or never and we – governments, business and individuals – all need to play our part.
