What happened at Cop26 – DAY FIVE at a glance

A summary of the main developments on the fifth day of the UN climate summit in Glasgow

Several thousand protesters marched into central Glasgow for a youth protest. Children took to the streets with their parents, classmates and teachers. They demanded that world leaders do more to stop polluters and save the planet from catastrophic rising temperatures.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed Cop26 as a “failure” and a “PR event”. “The leaders are not doing nothing, they are actively creating loopholes and shaping frameworks to benefit themselves and to continue profiting from this destructive system,” she said.

Scientists revealed that the carbon dioxide emissions of the richest 1% of humanity are on track to be 30 times greater than the level compatible with keeping global heating below 1.5C.

An updated UN analysis found that global carbon emissions are on track to rise by 13.7% by 2030. That is in stark contrast to the 50% cut that is needed by then to retain the possibility of keeping the global temperature rise to 1.5C and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

However, initial analysis by the Energy Transition Commission showed that commitments and initiatives seen in the first week of Cop26 – if fully delivered by nations – would amount to 40% of the emissions cuts needed by 2030 to keep the world on track to a maximum of 1.5C of global heating.

The US climate envoy, John Kerry, said the $100bn promised by rich nations to poor nations can now be delivered in 2022, a year earlier than previously thought. It would still be two years later than its initial target.

5 November 2021

The Guardian