Category Archives: Cop26

Cop26 corporate sponsors condemn climate summit as ‘mismanaged’

Posted on by

Exclusive: NatWest, Microsoft and GSK among firms to raise complaint over poor planning and breakdown in relations

Companies that stumped up millions of pounds to sponsor the Cop26 climate summit have condemned it as “mismanaged” and “very last minute” in a volley of complaints as next month’s event in Glasgow draws near.

The sponsors, which include some of Britain’s biggest companies, have raised formal complaints blaming “very inexperienced” civil servants for delayed decisions, poor communication and a breakdown in relations between the organisers and firms in the run-up to the landmark talks.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson’s climate credibility at stake in run-up to Cop26 summit

Posted on by

Campaigners fear net zero strategy is being hamstrung by Rishi Sunak, who refuses to provide adequate funding

Boris Johnson faces a significant test of his leadership before the Cop26 climate summit as the chancellor and business secretary are at war over the imminent plan for reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The government is poised to publish its long-awaited net zero strategy on Monday, setting out how the UK will meet its targets to cut CO2 emissions by 78% by 2035 and reach net zero by 2050. This will also include the heat and buildings strategy for insulating draughty homes and phasing out gas boilers, along with a massive expansion of offshore wind, and building electric vehicle charging networks.

Continue reading...

Diplomats in last-ditch effort to bring world leaders to Cop26 table

Posted on by

As attendance of President Xi of China hangs in balance, UK and US launch frantic round of meetings

The UK, the US and the EU are embarking on a frantic round of climate diplomacy in a last-ditch attempt to bring key countries into a deal on greenhouse gas emissions before the Cop26 climate summit.

Alok Sharma, the UK cabinet minister who will preside over the talks, has meetings planned with representatives of China after questions were raised over whether the president, Xi Jinping, would attend Cop26 in person, as well as the other G20 big emitters yet to produce plans on emission cuts before the summit, which opens in Glasgow on 31 October.

Continue reading...

Queen ‘irritated’ by world leaders talking not doing on climate crisis

Posted on by

Overheard comment suggests anger at possible no-shows at Cop26 by leaders of countries with worst CO2 emissions

The Queen has criticised world leaders’ inaction on addressing the climate crisis, admitting she is “irritated” by individuals who “talk but don’t do”.

She made the remarks, which were picked up on a livestream, at the opening of the Welsh parliament in Cardiff on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Prince William criticises space race and tourism’s new frontier

Posted on by

Duke of Cambridge says world’s greatest minds need to focus on trying to fix the Earth instead

The Duke of Cambridge has criticised the space race and space tourism, saying the world’s greatest minds need to focus on trying to fix the Earth instead.

Prince William’s comments, in an interview with Newscast on BBC Sounds, will be aired the day after William Shatner made history by becoming the oldest person in space.

Continue reading...

Will China’s plan to build more coal plants derail Cop26?

Posted on by

Analysis: while the short-term consequences are grim, veteran analysts talk of a wobble rather than a fall

China’s decision to build more coal plants is a setback for climate action, but analysts say it could still meet its long-term emission reduction targets and may even have scope to raise its ambition at Cop26 in Glasgow.

In recent days, Beijing has announced a buildup of coal capacity to address the most severe power cuts in a decade, which have caused rolling blackouts in half its provinces.

Continue reading...

UK, US, China: how the world’s carbon ‘centre of gravity’ moved over 200 years

Posted on by

The geographic centre of the world’s carbon emissions used to sit atop the UK. Now it sits squarely over China

A new Guardian visualisation reveals how the “centre of gravity” of global emissions has moved over the past 200 years.

The analysis shows how the geographic centre of the world’s carbon emissions used to sit directly atop the UK before being pulled westwards by the US and back towards the east by the rise of China.

Continue reading...

Carbon emissions ‘will drop just 40% by 2050 with countries’ current pledges’

Posted on by

International Energy Agency says $4tn investment needed over decade to reach net zero target

Current plans to cut global carbon emissions will fall 60% short of their 2050 net zero target, the International Energy Agency has said, as it urged leaders to use the upcoming Cop26 climate conference to send an “unmistakable signal” with concrete policy plans.

In its annual World Energy Outlook, redesigned this year as a “guidebook” for world leaders attending the summit in Glasgow, the IEA predicted that carbon emissions would decrease by just 40% by the middle of the century if countries stick to their climate pledges.

Continue reading...

Cop26: world poised for big leap forward on climate crisis, says John Kerry

Posted on by

Exclusive: upbeat US climate envoy anticipates big announcements from key players at Glasgow talks

The world is poised to make a big leap forward at the UN Cop26 climate summit, with world leaders “sharpening their pencils” to make fresh commitments that could put the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement within reach, John Kerry has said.

Kerry, special envoy for climate to Joe Biden, gave an upbeat assessment of the prospects for Cop26, which begins in Glasgow at the end of this month, saying he anticipated “surprising announcements” from key countries.

Continue reading...

Capsule of 1765 air reveals ancient histories hidden under Antarctic ice

Posted on by

Polar Zero exhibition in Glasgow features sculpture encasing air extracted from start of Industrial Revolution

An ampoule of Antarctic air from the year 1765 forms the centrepiece of a new exhibition that reveals the hidden histories contained in polar ice to visitors attending the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow.

The artist Wayne Binitie has spent the past five years undertaking an extraordinary collaboration with scientists of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), who drill, analyse and preserve cylinders of ice from deep in the ice sheet that record past climate change.

Continue reading...