Day 2 – Tuesday 2 November 2021
On the final day of the World Leaders Summit, global heads of state continued to lay out their commitments to meeting the challenges of climate change, and those most affected – the poorer countries – arguing for greater assistance.
Boris Johnson announced a global plan to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, and Brazil – where huge stretches of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down – was among the signatories to the forest pledge., along with a hundred other countries, including Russia and the US.
Widely seen as the first big deal so far of the climate summit, how implementation of the agreement is to be tracked, and countries made to honour their promise, has yet to be detailed.
An £8.75 billion public finance package from 12 countries, including the UK, will support the commitment to forests, and the pledge has been backed by £5.2bn in private funding.
The majority of the 120 countries represented at COP26 signed up to a global methane pledge brokered by the EU and US, agreeing to cut emissions by 30% by the end of the decade.
Methane, responsible for 50% of global warming, stays in the atmosphere for less time than CO2, but has 80 times the warming potential. Long overdue for attention, the methane pledge if implemented fully, would be a game changer.
“With this global pledge we are making COP26 the moment when the world moves from aspiration to action,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told delegates.
The launch was accompanied by a host of new commitments from countries to tackle the methane problem. President Biden announced the US would tighten rules forcing oil and gas companies to monitor and fix methane leaks, and similar steps will be taken in the EU.
In a third major announcement, Boris Johnson announced a plan to deliver clean and affordable technology across the globe by 2030.
More than 40 world leaders signed up to Johnson’s ‘Breakthrough Agenda’ that will see countries and businesses work together to dramatically speed up the development and deployment of clean technologies and drive down their cost.
The aim is to make clean technologies the most affordable, accessible and attractive choice for consumers and businesses globally in each of the most polluting sectors by 2030. The Breakthrough Agenda will specifically support the developing world to access clean technology they so desperately need to transition to net zero.
Complimenting the aims of the Breakthrough plan, the EU announced a msjor programme to get new climate technologies to market faster, via a €1bn public and private investment scheme.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen launched the EU Catalyst Partnership, which is backed by Bill Gates and the European Investment Bank. The Catalyst scheme will finance and commercialise breakthrough clean technologies such as green hydrogen.
Day 2 was also a day of personal philanthtopy. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged 2 billion dollars (£1.47bn) for land restoration in Africa. The billionaire saying his flight into space in July had made him realise how fragile the planet was.
As the world’s heads of government depart Glasgow, most by fossil-fuelled planes, their negotiating teams remain to do the hard bargaining.
Bold declarations and rhetoric, the “Blah, blah, blah” as Greta Thunberg describes it, will be replaced with something different, the devil in the detail, turning intention into measurable effective action.
Wednesday 3 November at COP26 will see Wales’ Minister for Climate Change. Julie James MS, and Welsh farming leaders, join delegates where the main sessions will include forums on the global financing of decarbonisation, the transition challenges facing steel industries and tourism.
