Everything from the first week of COP26 in 5 minutes
A COP26 special newsletter.
Welcome to Planet Days, a five-minute roundup of the latest climate news and what it means for the Planet. If this was forwarded to you, smash that subscribe button:
This week we’re doing something a little different. We’re focusing only on COP26, the 13-day international climate conference that kicked off last week in Glasgow, Scotland.
First, some background
The 26th Conference of Parties — or COP26, for short — brings together 130 world leaders committed to avoiding a climate catastrophe. The summit allows countries to renew climate pledges to align with the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and present tangible plans to achieve these goals.
Already, global emissions have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, and even with dozens of climate commitments in place, the Planet is on pace to overshoot targets set in Paris. Because of that, many think COP26 is the last best chance to get climate change under control.
So, in case you missed it, here’s what happened the first week of COP26:
Monday, November 1
Doomsday at COP26
Doom and gloom clouded the first day in Glasgow. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres kicked off the climate summit with a warning about climate change: “We face a stark choice: Either we stop it — or it stops us.”
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson continued to spout urgency: “It’s one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock… If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow.” And United States President Joe Biden doubled down on his country’s climate commitments: “We’ll demonstrate to the world the United States is not only back at the table but hopefully leading by the power of our example.”
The blunt language comes after recent reports showed just how far off we are from holding global warming to under 2 degrees and avoiding a climate catastrophe. The Associated Press has more on the summit’s first day.
Over 100 leaders pledge to stop deforestation
But it wasn’t all bad. Shortly after that bleak opening, COP26 started doing its job: Countries announced climate commitments. On Monday, over 100 world leaders pledged to stop and reverse deforestation by 2030.
The countries, which include heavily forested areas like Brazil and Indonesia, committed $19 billion to invest in protecting and restoring forests. Brazil even committed a more aggressive target of ending deforestation by 2028 — though after spikes of deforestation under President Jair Bolsonaro, the country has a long way to go.
Separately, five countries, including the U.K. and U.S., pledged $1.7 billion to support Indigenous communities’ efforts to protect lands, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged $2 billion to restore landscapes, primarily across Africa. Reuters covers the deforestation pledge.
New targets limit warming to under 2 degrees
To be successful, COP26 not only needs big, sweeping initiatives — it needs renewed emissions targets to keep global warming in check.
At COP, several holdouts brought their targets more in line with the rest of the world. Notably, India, the world's third-biggest emitter, pledged to reach net-zero by 2070. Brazil also ramped up its climate target, and so did Japan.
Separately, China, the world’s largest emitter, as well as Russia, skipped the conference entirely, drawing harsh criticism from world leaders.
Still, with the new targets, the Planet is in much better shape …at least on paper. If all countries follow through on current net-zero targets, global temperatures will rise to only 1.9 degrees Celsius, the first time our trajectory has dipped below 2 degrees. The Guardian has more.
Tuesday, November 2
World’s largest nations vow to cut methane
To stay with good news, more than 100 nations signed onto a U.S.-E.U.-led pledge to cut global methane emissions by 30% or more by 2030. The signatories represent roughly half of current methane emissions and approximately 70% of the world’s economy.
Methane has about 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, but it spends just a tenth of the time in the atmosphere. At an event Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called methane “the lowest-hanging fruit” for emissions cuts.
Though the pledge marks a big step, some of the top emitters — like China, Russia, India, Australia, and Iran — did not sign the deal. Inside Climate News has the latest.
Wednesday, November 3
Banks boost money to fight climate change
With new pledges and commitments crowding headlines on Monday and Tuesday, the climate summit turned to a stickier question: Who pays for it? And just as important, what about the smaller countries facing the climate mess left behind by industrial nations?
By midweek, some began answering these questions. On Wednesday, a group of banks and financial institutions, with controlled assets of up to $130 trillion, vowed to ramp up green investments to support nations’ net-zero commitments. Some are still worried, however, that the commitment lacks teeth to prevent firms from investing in fossil fuels.
Thursday, November 4
Cutting off fossil fuels
As if on queue, the very next day 20 countries, including the U.S. and U.K., pledged to stop funding oil and gas abroad. Though the agreement allowed exemptions — and some huge emitters haven’t signed on (cough-cough China) — it was hailed as a critical step toward leaving fossil fuels in the dust. POLITICO has you covered.
But what of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel? On Thursday, more than 40 countries, including major-contributors Poland, Vietnam, and Chile, committed to phasing out coal. Notably, however, the U.S. and China did not sign the agreement. Read more in the BBC.
Friday, November 5
Climate activists protest COP
Not everyone is convinced that the summit is generating real progress, though. Climate activist Greta Thunberg led a crowd of 25,000 people to protest COP26, a summit that she says has been “a failure.”
“COP26 has turned into a PR event,” Thunberg said. “It should be obvious that we cannot solve a crisis with the same methods that got us into it in the first place. We need immediate drastic annual emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen.”
On Friday, COP26 focused on how to engage young people in tackling climate change and bringing systemic change the international talks. CNN has more.
Bonus
It passed!
It’s finally infrastructure week! After months of talks, a ton of compromise, and several last-minute showdowns between progressive and moderate Democrats, the House passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Though pared down from its original price tag of $2.6 trillion, the bill has $550 billion in new spending, including money for the grid, public transit, electric vehicles, and research into carbon-cutting tech. With $50 billion to help communities adapt to climate impacts, the bill also marks the country’s first major investment in climate resilience.
Since the bill has already passed in the Senate, it will go straight to Biden to sign. Democrats will try to pass Biden’s other major climate bill, the $1.7 trillion social spending plan, by Thanksgiving, which they hope will give key swing voter Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) enough time to get on board.
Have a great week,
Brandon and Sam