What are the outcomes of COP26?

“Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread […] It is time to go into emergency mode” urged Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, closing the two weeks Conference of Parties 26.

The COP26 took place in Glasgow, from October 31^st to November 12^th, and resulted in the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact, mainly calling to “phase down” coal use and emphasizing on the need to mobilize climate finance from all sources to increase support for developing countries.
It also emphasizes on the “urgency of scaling up action and support” using the best available science (art. II.6), recognizes that reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels and to net-zero by 2050 will be needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C (art. IV.17). The text also “emphasizes the importance of protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems, including forests and other terrestrial and marine ecosystems, to achieve the long-term global goal of the Convention” as crucial greenhouse gas reservoirs (art. IV.21) and as providers of crucial services “reducing vulnerability to climate change impacts and supporting sustainable livelihoods (art. VII.50)

Besides the multilateral negotiations, about 50,000 participants attended online and in-person the COP26 to share innovative ideas, solutions, build partnerships and cooperation, which resulted in some initiatives:

• Leaders from over 120 countries, representing about 90 per cent of the world’s forests, pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030
• More than 100 countries agreed to cut methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 in a methane pledge
• More than 40 countries – including major coal-users such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile – agreed to shift away from coal, one of the biggest generators CO2 emissions.
• 500 global financial services firms agreed to align $130 trillion – some 40 per cent of the world’s financial assets – with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, including limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• More than 100 national governments, cities, states and major car companies signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero-Emission Cars and Vans to end the sale of internal combustion engines by 2035 in leading markets, and by 2040 worldwide.  
• Ireland, France, Denmark, and Costa Rica among others, as well as some subnational governments, launched Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), first-of-its kind alliance to set an end date for national oil and gas exploration and extraction.

The COP27 will be held in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7 to 18 November 2022.