How to Cover COP26

The document advises journalists to treat COP26 with urgency, framing coverage around the 1.5 C temperature goal, climate justice, and the political barriers to solutions. It emphasizes the need for advance coverage and the localization of global climate impacts to make the summit relevant to diverse audiences.

• The 1.5 C temperature limit is identified as the most critical metric for COP26, as the IPCC's Sixth Assessment report indicates that limiting warming to this level requires "unprecedented, transformational change."
• Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are insufficient; instead of the required 45 percent emissions drop by 2030, they suggest a 16 percent increase, leading toward a 2.7 C temperature rise.
• Climate justice is a central tension at UN summits, with poor countries suffering the worst impacts despite emitting a tiny fraction of greenhouse gases, while rich countries have historically higher per capita emissions.
• A significant point of contention at COP26 is the failure of developed nations to meet their 2015 pledge to provide $100 billion in annual climate aid by 2020, with 2018 data showing only $19.5 to $22 billion was provided.
• Political barriers to climate action include the influence of "carbon states" (such as the US, China, Australia, Russia, Canada, and Saudi Arabia) and the power of fossil fuel companies like Exxon and Aramco.
• For the United States, COP26 serves as a deadline for President Joe Biden's budget reconciliation package, which contains tax credits for electric vehicles and incentives to replace coal and gas with wind and solar.

APA

CCNow (2021). How to Cover COP26. Covering Climate Now. https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/how-to-cover-cop26/

Chicago

CCNow. How to Cover COP26. Covering Climate Now, 2021. https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/how-to-cover-cop26/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CCNow |title=How to Cover COP26 |publisher=Covering Climate Now |date=20 March 2021 |url=https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/how-to-cover-cop26/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ccnow2021how, author = {CCNow}, title = {{How to Cover COP26}}, institution = {Covering Climate Now}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/how-to-cover-cop26/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }