Our verdict on COP26: A compromise with catastrophe

Global Witness critiques COP26 as a failure that lacked urgency and accountability, noting that the summit allowed fossil fuel lobbyists significant access while excluding many affected communities. The organization highlights the inadequacy of voluntary pledges on deforestation and the failure to secure comprehensive agreements on phasing out oil, gas, and fossil fuel subsidies, concluding that the commitments made are insufficient to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.

• COP26 is characterized as a failure because it offered commitments with delivery dates decades in the future and lacked clear accountability or milestones, failing to reflect the urgency of an ongoing climate emergency.
• There was a significant disparity in access at the summit; while over 500 fossil fuel lobbyists were welcomed as delegates with access to negotiating rooms, many Indigenous voices, youth activists, and defenders were excluded due to costs, travel restrictions, and vaccine inequity.
• Progress on fossil fuels was insufficient, with coal agreements excluding many reliant countries and no substantive action taken on oil and gas, whose emissions exceed those of coal.
• The pledge by over 100 world leaders to end deforestation by 2030 is viewed as unreliable because it is entirely voluntary and lacks accountability mechanisms, mirroring a failed 2014 promise.
• The overall commitments from COP26 are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Our verdict on COP26: A compromise with catastrophe. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/our-verdict-on-cop26-a-compromise-with-catastrophe/

Chicago

Global Witness. Our verdict on COP26: A compromise with catastrophe. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/our-verdict-on-cop26-a-compromise-with-catastrophe/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=Our verdict on COP26: A compromise with catastrophe |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/our-verdict-on-cop26-a-compromise-with-catastrophe/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndour, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Our verdict on COP26: A compromise with catastrophe}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/our-verdict-on-cop26-a-compromise-with-catastrophe/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }