Category Archives: Cop26

‘Living from flood to flood’: the crisis of Gambia’s sinking city

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As well as floods, sewage and crocodiles, those living in Banjul’s slums face the effects of a climate crisis they did little to cause

Yedel Bah would move home if she could, but she can’t. With no income of her own, four children to feed and a husband who just about manages, her family lives from day to day, and from flood to flood, on the banks of a litter-strewn, stagnant canal.

Every rainy season, the neighbourhood of Tobacco Road in the Gambian capital, Banjul, braces for downpours of such intensity that the canal overflows, spilling its murky, pungent depths into the slum-like homes that run alongside it.

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Ratchets, phase-downs and a fragile agreement: how Cop26 played out

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Last-minute hitch on coal almost reduced Alok Sharma to tears as Glasgow climate pact made imperfect progress

As weary delegates trudged into the Scottish Event Campus on the banks of the Clyde on Saturday, few realised what a mountain they still had to climb. The Cop26 climate talks were long past their official deadline of 6pm on Friday, but there were strong hopes that the big issues had been settled. A deal was tantalisingly close.

The “package” on offer was imperfect – before countries even turned up in Glasgow they were meant to have submitted plans that would cut global carbon output by nearly half by 2030, to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Although most countries submitted plans, they were not strong enough and analysis found they would lead to a disastrous 2.4C of heating.

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Cop26 live: Boris Johnson gives press conference after climate deal is secured

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Agreement arrived at on Saturday night made progress in some important areas but poor countries say it is not nearly enough

Sharma says nations like China and India will have to justify themselves to developing nations.

“This deal does keep 1.5C in reach,” insists Sharma, who says he has received many messages of thanks from around the world for the deal.

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Cop26 ends in climate agreement despite India watering down coal resolution

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Glasgow Climate Pact adopted despite last-minute intervention by India to water down language on phasing out dirtiest fossil fuel

Countries have agreed a deal on the climate crisis that its backers say will keep within reach the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C, the key threshold of safety set out in the 2015 Paris agreement.

Alok Sharma, the UK cabinet minister and Cop president, said the deal was “imperfect” but showed “consensus and support”. He said: “I hope we can leave this conference united having delivered something significant for people and planet together as one.”

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Pressure mounts on countries to strike Cop26 deal as talks pass deadline

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Deadlock stretched climate summit past its scheduled end with hopes leaders will reach agreement by Saturday

Cop26 climate talks were closing in on a global deal aimed at limiting devastating global warming, with UK organisers hoping for a final agreement to the marathon negotiations on Saturday.

Delegates from nearly 200 nations are tasked with keeping alive the 2015 Paris goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C, as warming-driven disasters hit home around the world.

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Cop26 in extra time as leaders warn of the deadly cost of failure

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Delegates are told they must reach a deal to limit global heating or future generations will be forced into violent competition for resources

Children born today will be fighting each other for food and water in 2050 if the Cop26 climate summit fails, exhausted delegates were told as negotiators fight over the final details of a potential deal.

The deadline for the fortnight-long talks to finish came and went as leading figures took to the floor for what they hoped would be the final time, to exhort each other to cooperate in the interests of people threatened by the climate crisis around the world.

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Transform approach to Amazon or it will not survive, warns major report

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Panel of 200 scientists tells Cop26 Indigenous people, business, governments and scientists must collaborate

The world’s approach to the Amazon rainforest must be transformed to avoid an irreversible, catastrophic tipping point, according to the most comprehensive study of the region ever carried out.

More than 200 scientists collaborated on the new report, which finds that more than a third of the world’s biggest tropical forest is degraded or deforested, rainfall is declining and dry seasons are growing longer.

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‘An emblem of Scotland’: how Irn-Bru stole the show at Cop26

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Scottish fizzy drink already had deal shutting out rivals, but praise from Sturgeon and AOC was golden marketing moment

As Cop26 draws to a close, the climate summit’s big-name sponsors have been left scratching their heads as to how the plucky Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru managed to steal the limelight in the marketing ambush of the year.

The status of the bright orange drink as the summit’s surprise curiosity made global headlines earlier this week when the US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted an Instagram video of herself praising the beverage after having her first taste.

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Australia news live update: net zero modelling released; Morrison comments on Aukus fallout

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Federal government releases net zero modelling; Scott Morrison says ‘of course the French are upset’; Australia passes 90% first dose Covid vaccination milestone; Victoria records 1,115 cases and nine deaths; NSW records 286 cases and two deaths; state funeral for Bert Newton. Follow all the day’s news

Accused drug smuggler Mostafa Baluch is due to appear before NSW court today after he was recaptured, extradited from the Gold Coast and slapped with an additional outstanding arrest warrant charge.

It’s alleged that Baluch is the financier behind a 900kg shipment of cocaine into Australia, and was on the run for nearly two weeks after allegedly cutting off his ankle monitor.

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Cop26 targets too weak to stop disaster, say Paris agreement architects

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Figueres, Tubiana and Fabius warn that leaders must improve plans next year if world is to stay within crucial 1.5C limit

World leaders will have to return to the negotiating table next year with improved plans to cut greenhouse gases because the proposed targets agreed at the Cop26 summit are too weak to prevent disastrous levels of global heating, the three architects of the Paris agreement have warned.

Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief who oversaw the 2015 Paris summit, and Laurence Tubiana, the French diplomat who crafted the agreement, have told the Guardian the deadline is essential if the world is to avoid exceeding its 1.5C temperature limit. Laurent Fabius, the former French foreign minister who also oversaw Paris, added: “In the present circumstances [targets] must be enhanced next year.”

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Cop26: End trillions in subsidies given to fossil fuel industry, says UN chief – day 11 live

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All the latest news from the UN climate change conference in Glasgow

The UN’s António Guterres is underwhelmed by the pledges so far.

Bit of a theme here in the final push of the summit to make Cop26 a world-saver, rather than a historical disappointment. Lots of voices calling for more “ambition”.

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US and China announce surprise climate agreement – video

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The United States and China, the world's two largest emitters of carbon dioxide, unveiled a deal to ramp up cooperation tackling the climate crisis. US climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua announced the framework agreement at the UN climate conference in Scotland. Both billed it as way to tip the summit toward success. 'In the area of climate change', Xie Zhenhua said. 'There is more agreement between China and the US than divergence, making it an area with huge potential for cooperation'.

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Australia news live update: NSW braces for widespread flooding; Victoria Covid cases still high; Morrison defends EV policy amid backlash

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Victoria records 1,313 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths; NSW records 261 cases and one death; NSW bracing for widespread flooding; man dies in police custody in Melbourne; PM continues to lash out at Labor as he responds to questions about his government’s stance on EVs – follow all the day’s news

A man has died in custody at a police station in Melbourne’s west, AAP reports.

Police say the 43-year-old Sunshine man was arrested on Tuesday and remanded to appear in court on Thursday.

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‘Love it’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tries Irn Bru for the first time – video

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has given her verdict on the taste of the Scottish fizzy drink Irn Bru. In an Instagram video of herself trying the drink for the first time after being handed a can by Scottish PM Nicola Sturgeon, the US congresswoman said: ‘Oh my God, love it, love it. This tastes just like the Latina soda Kola Champagne’

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China and the US announce plan to work together on cutting emissions

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In a surprise press conference, the two superpowers promised to cooperate more and hoped for the success of Cop26

China and the US announced a surprise plan to work together on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the crucial next decade, in a strong boost to the Cop26 summit, as negotiators wrangled over a draft outcome.

The world’s two biggest emitters had been trading insults for the first week of the conference, but on Wednesday evening unveiled a joint declaration that would see the world’s two biggest economies cooperate closely on the emissions cuts scientists say are needed in the next 10 years to stay within 1.5C.

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‘Love it’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives verdict on Scottish favourite Irn-Bru

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US congresswoman posts video of herself sampling the drink at Cop26 after being given a can by Nicola Sturgeon

Cop26 is not short of controversial subjects, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated she is not afraid to get stuck into the big questions: namely, would she like the Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru?

The bright orange drink has become the surprise curiosity of Cop26, and is on sale throughout the SEC convention centre due to a deal between building’s owners and drinks manufacturer AG Barr. Delegates from all over the world have been sharing their thoughts on its unique taste, with mixed reviews.

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Cop26 draft calls for tougher emissions pledges by next year

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Move is recognition of gap between current pledges and goals but critics say it does not go far enough

A draft of the Cop26 negotiation outcome published overnight urges countries to strengthen their 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets by the end of next year in a recognition of the yawning gap between current pledges and the landmark 2015 Paris agreement.

The text, released by the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, called on all countries to increase their short-term commitments in 2022, which would be a step forward. It also asks them to agree to an annual high-level ministerial round table focused on raising ambition further starting next November.

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‘See these glaciers, before they melt’: living on the frontline of global heating

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From extreme weather obliterating homes to rising sea levels ruining crops, climate breakdown is a terrifying daily reality for many

Throughout the 2021 United Nations climate change conference, the Guardian will be publishing the stories of the people whose lives have been upended – sometimes devastated – by the climate breakdown.

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World’s ‘calamitous’ water crisis being ignored in climate talks – WaterAid

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Cop26 summit focusing on slowing down global heating at expense of current impact on water-stressed regions, says head of WaterAid

A global water crisis is being ignored at Cop26 to the detriment of billions of people’s lives, according to the charity WaterAid.

Water had not had “nearly enough” attention at the climate conference in Glasgow, with urgent action needed, said Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid.

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