The 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) took place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow. Under the UK presidency, the COP26 summit brought parties together to accelerate the measures towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
At the end of the COP26, the European Commission supported the consensus reached by over 190 countries after two weeks of intense negotiations. COP26 resulted in the completion of the Paris Agreement rulebook and kept the Paris targets alive, giving us a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
COP26 is a step in the right direction. 1.5 degrees Celsius remains within reach, but the work is far from done. The least we can do now is implement the promises of Glasgow as rapidly as possible and then aim higher.
Key results
- Several major emitters have announced new emission reduction targets
- More than 100 countries have joined the Global Methane Pledge, an EU-US initiative
- New partnerships were forged to support countries on their transition to clean energy
- Progress was made on climate finance. With the latest pledges, $100 billion goal should be reached as soon as possible
- We now have a set of rules that will boost international carbon markets
Financing climate action
Developed countries have committed to mobilise a total of $100 billion per year of international climate finance from 2020 until 2025 to help the most vulnerable countries and small island states in particular in their mitigation and adaptation efforts. The European Union is the largest donor, contributing over a third of the current pledges, accounting for €23.39 billion ($27 billion) of climate finance in 2020. President von der Leyen recently announced an additional € 4 billion from the EU budget for climate finance until 2027.
COP26 global initiatives
Global Methane Pledge
The United States, the EU and partners formally launched the Global Methane Pledge, an initiative to reduce global methane emissions to keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. Over 100 countries representing 70% of the global economy and nearly half of anthropogenic methane emissions have now signed onto the pledge.
EU Catalyst Partnership
The partnership between the European Commission, European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst will mobilise up to €820 million ($1 billion) between 2022-2026 to accelerate the deployment and rapidly commercialise innovative technologies. This will help deliver European Green Deal ambitions and the EU's 2030 climate targets.
Global Forests Finance Pledge
The European Commission announced €1 billion as the EU’s contribution to the Global Forests Finance Pledge. This 5-year support package from the EU budget will help partner countries to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests worldwide and deliver on the Paris Agreement.
Just Energy Transition Partnership
The governments of South Africa, France, Germany, the UK and the US, along with the EU, have announced a new ambitious, long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership to support South Africa's decarbonisation efforts. The Partnership aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of South Africa's economy, with a focus on the electricity system.
EU side events at COP26
The EU hosted over 150 side events at the EU Pavilion in Glasgow and online. These events, organised by a variety of countries and organisations from Europe and around the world, addressed a broad range of climate-related issues, such as the energy transition, sustainable finance and research and innovation. Over 20,000 registered to the online platform.