What Congress Needs to Know in the Lead-up to COP26

The briefing outlines the primary focus areas for COP26, including the completion of the Paris rulebook, the implementation of Article 6 regarding carbon markets, and the updating of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Experts discuss the distinction between 'net-zero' and the Paris Agreement's goal of balancing emissions and removals, the role of the IPCC in informing negotiations, and the mechanisms for addressing 'loss and damage' through the Warsaw International Mechanism and the Santiago Network. The document emphasizes the bottom-up nature of the Paris Agreement, which relies on national pledges and transparency rather than binding global limits.

• Loss and damage refers to permanent losses that countries cannot adapt to. It is managed through the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM), which provides recommendations to the COP. While Article 8 of the Paris Agreement does not establish liability for developed countries toward developing countries, the current strategy involves proposing creative funding methods and using the Santiago Network to educate countries on the issue.
• The Paris Agreement utilizes a bottom-up approach where individual countries submit pledges for emission reductions via Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This inclusive regime relies on reporting, transparency, and the global stocktake to drive ambition, as there is no global government to enforce binding limits. Article 6 is highlighted as a critical mechanism for countries to achieve more aggressive targets and motivate private finance.
• There is a distinction between the term 'net-zero' and the language of the Paris Agreement, which calls for a "balance between emissions and removals." The document notes that there is currently no effort at COP26 to define 'net-zero' beyond the terms of the agreement, although private carbon markets and non-state actors are increasingly using the term or describing goals as "Paris aligned."
• Scientific reports from the IPCC guide negotiations and have shifted the goal from limiting warming to around 2 degrees Celsius to limiting it to "well-below 2 degrees Celsius, and as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible." Science is integrated into the process through the global stocktake, the SBSTA agenda on research and systematic observation, and dedicated events like Earth Observation Day.

APA

Bertrand, S. (2021). What Congress Needs to Know in the Lead-up to COP26. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/102221cop

Chicago

Bertrand, Savannah. What Congress Needs to Know in the Lead-up to COP26. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2021. https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/102221cop.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertrand |first1=Savannah |title=What Congress Needs to Know in the Lead-up to COP26 |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=22 October 2021 |url=https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/102221cop |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertrand2021what, author = {Bertrand, Savannah}, title = {{What Congress Needs to Know in the Lead-up to COP26}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/102221cop}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }