What You Missed from COP26

Last month, the world’s superpowers met in Glasgow to discuss a topic on everyone’s minds: climate change and what can we do about it? For some, COP26 was a great success; for other’s it felt like we’d once again achieved nothing. Whatever your thoughts, here are some initiatives that flew under the radar. 

Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance:

Launched by Denmark and Costa Rica, this alliance will require countries to set a definitive end date for licensing new oil and gas. Members will also need to draw up plans to phase out existing use of oil and gas. 

The absence of major oil and gas producers during the launch of this initiative, such as the UK, US and Russia, raised a few eyebrows, but Danish Climate and Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen is hopeful that the alliance will grow quickly The current members have stated that although they do not produce masses of oil and coal, their pledge to the alliance will ensure that natural land is preserved and not used for drilling.  

Zero-emissions Vehicles Declaration:

The UK has set its own target to stop selling vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2040 and led discussions about the Global Declaration on Zero-emission vehicles. Over 30 countries and businesses have now agreed to stop selling ICE vehicles by 2040. The three largest car markets: the US, Germany, and China, are yet to sign, but some businesses and geographic regions within these nations have signed independently. 

There are similar initiatives, which aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the public transport and aviation sector. Signatories of the “Count Us In Declaration” will stop selling ICE buses by 2030 and 18 nations, representing 40% of current aviation emissions, have adopted pre-2050 aviation targets that could be vital in keeping warming to 1.5°C. 

Green Shipping Corridors:

The launch of the Clydebank Declaration will see the creation of six green shipping corridors between global ports as trial locations for emerging clean transport technologies. The initial corridors will be relatively short but long-haul routes are likely to be added by 2030. 

The declaration has been signed by 20 nations, including the UK and the US. The technologies that will be tested along these green shipping routes include hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and electrification. 

The Sustainable Agriculture Agenda:

According to the WWF, agricultural food systems have contributed to over 30% of global carbon emissions and two thirds of biodiversity loss to date. In an attempt to “put people, nature and climate at the core of our food systems,” 45 countries have signed on to a new Policy Action Agenda, which aims to help policymakers create a low-carbon, deforestation-free and fair-trade food production system. In support of this, the World Economic Fund is planning to launch a new initiative to help 100 million farmers access funding and new technology. 

Supermarkets have also pledged to reduce the negative impacts that food systems have on nature and the climate. The Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose have all committed to halve the environmental impact of supply chains and have set deforestation, food waste, marine and land stewardship and packaging targets for 2030. Their progress will be reported annually and monitored by the WWF. 

The Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stated that countries have consistently treated nature “like a toilet” throughout history and urged them to start treating biodiversity conservation as a priority. The UK has pledged to deliver £3 billion for the International Climate Finance on Nature and Biodiversity. £40 million of this will be used to establish a Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate. This Global Centre will research new methods of biodiversity conservation and how biodiversity can contribute to decarbonisation. The rest will go towards other projects, including conserving five hectares of rainforest, and developing sustainable forest supply chains in the tropics, ensuring that biodiversity globally is respected and protected.