COP26 is the world’s last, best chance to reach an agreement on the action needed to avert catastrophic climate change and support those already experiencing its effects.
Nations must take action to honour the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep a 1.5 degree limit on temperature rises within reach – the Government is calling for the world to make big commitments to change in four key areas – coal, cars, cash and trees.
It is one minute to midnight and we need to act now. If we do not get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow. We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees. Not more hopes and targets and aspirations, valuable though they are, but clear commitments and concrete timetables for change. We need to get real about climate change and the world needs to know when that is going to happen.
As the largest international summit the UK has ever hosted – this is the best chance to make the changes now and lead the world in tackling climate change.
Announcements in Week 2…
£290 million in new funding to help the most vulnerable countries cope with the impact of climate change
The Government has announced £290 million in new funding to help the most vulnerable countries cope with the impact of climate change as we call on other nations to go further to help those most at risk.
Climate change disproportionately affects those already most vulnerable – and we must act now to stop it from devastating communities in some of the poorest parts of the world. That is why the Government has announced £290 million in new funding to support those most at risk from rising global temperatures – including £274 million to fund climate action, conservation and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as funding for other developing countries and to tackle climate related disasters.
The Government is calling for other countries at COP26 to step up their contributions to sustainable development and a climate-resilient future for all, so that no one is left behind in the fight against climate change.
UK boost to advance gender equality in climate action
The Government has announced £165 million of new funding to advance gender equality in climate action – addressing the disparities that make women and girls more vulnerable to climate change while working to reduce global emissions.
Women and children – who make up a large majority of the world’s poor – are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, so we must take action to support those at risk as we work to reduce global emissions. That is why the Government has announced £165 million of new funding to address gender inequality as we tackle climate change – including investing up to £45 million to help grassroots women's groups in Asia and the Pacific, and £120 million for the Bangladesh Climate and Environment Programme to combine supporting women’s leadership with addressing environmental concerns.
This will support women and children to build longer term climate resilience while providing them with the opportunity to further economic and social equality.
UK will become the first country in the world to commit to phasing out non-zero emissions HGVs
The Government has gone one step further and confirmed the UK will become the first country in the world to commit to phasing out non-zero emissions HGVs, driving our transport system towards net zero and sparking our green industrial revolution.
The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s electric vehicle revolution and delivering on our world leading pledge to end the sale of all polluting road vehicles within the next two decades. That is why, combined with our 2030 pledge to phase out petrol and diesel cars and vans, the Government is now going further and committing to the phasing out of on-zero emission heavy goods vehicles by 2040–joined by twenty-four other countries that have too committed to accelerate the adoption of zero emission vehicles in their markets.
The Government is continuing our commitment to the UK’s electric vehicle revolution–increasing the accessibility and inclusivity of electric vehicles and delivering on coal, cars, cash and trees.
The Government has also unveiled our new charge point design in the UK for zero-emission vehicles–building on our vision for the UK to have one of the best EV infrastructure networks in the world.
Supporting a reliable, affordable and accessible network of charging infrastructure is vital for our transition to zero-emission vehicles and path to net zero. That is why the Government has launched our brand-new charge point design, in the UK–the most convenient, affordable, and reliable charging network in the world, which could become as iconic as the Great British post box.
£27.5 million Urban Climate Action programme to help developing cities reduce their emissions and grow sustainably
The Government has launched the £27.5 million Urban Climate Action programme to help developing cities reduce their emissions and grow sustainably, as we lead the world in fighting climate change.
The world’s urban buildings are responsible for around 40% of global emissions, which is why helping the world’s cities transition to net zero is vital to keeping 1.5 degrees alive. That is why the Government has launched our £27.5 million Urban Climate Action programme (UCAP) to help cities across Africa, Asia and Latin America become carbon neutral by 2050 and invest in low-carbon infrastructure projects, such as low-emission public transport systems and sustainable waste management.
This will help protect the places where people live and work, future proofing the world for future generations.
Glasgow Climate Pact keeps critical 1.5C global warming goal alive
The Government asked nations to come together for our planet and to make history at COP26, they have answered that call – with a historic agreement to phase down coal and a roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
The Glasgow Climate Pact commits countries to phase down unabated coal, supports a just transition for developing countries and action to tackle loss and damage, agrees for the first time a common timeframe and methodology for national commitments on emissions reductions, and agrees that ministers will meet to review progress annually.
This agreement builds on the progress we have made on coal, cars, cash and trees throughout the summit:
- Coal
- 65 countries have now committed to phasing out the use of coal power, and all major coal financing countries have committed to end international coal finance by the end of 2021.
- Cars
- Over 30 countries and some of the world’s largest car makers committed to make all new car sales zero emission by 2040, and by 2035 in leading markets.
- Cash
- More finance has been mobilised to support climate action in developing countries than ever before – bring us closer to the $100 billion annual climate finance target next year and ensuring we will exceed it after that.
- Trees
- More than 130 leaders, representing over 90% of the world’s forests, pledged at COP26 to end deforestation by 2030.
There is still a huge amount more to do in the coming years – but we will look back on COP26 as the beginning of the end of climate change, and we will continue to work tirelessly towards that goal.
PM Closing statement at COP26
Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a press conference following the conclusion of the COP26 summit. To view the full statement, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-opening-statememt-at-cop26-press-conference-14-november-2021.
COP26 – Week 1
To view the announcements that were made in the first week of COP26, please visit: https://www.rebeccaharris.org/news/cop26-week-1.
COP26 Documents
To view all the latest documents and announcements following the COP26 summit, please visit the Government’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/cop26.
