COP26: Climate scientists explain what it is and why it matters

COP26 is the 26th meeting of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021. Its primary goal is to produce realistic plans to limit global warming to 1.5C, as the current combined Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs) are insufficient and would lead to a temperature increase of 2.4C by 2100. The document emphasizes that emissions must be halved by 2030 to maintain a 50% chance of meeting the 1.5C target, noting that a 1.5C world is significantly safer than a 2C world regarding heat exposure, maize harvests, and coral reef survival.

• COP26 serves as a mechanism for 197 parties—comprising UN member countries, some non-UN member countries, and the European Union—to support the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was established in 1992 to address the "greenhouse effect".
• To maintain a 50:50 chance of limiting warming to 1.5C, global emissions must be reduced by half by 2030. Failure to do so increases the risk of severe heat exposure, loss of coral reefs, and significant reductions in tropical maize harvests.
• A critical but under-implemented component of the Paris Agreement is the provision of financial support from wealthy countries to less wealthy countries to facilitate emission cuts.

APA

Hodgkins, R. (2021). COP26: Climate scientists explain what it is and why it matters. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cop-26-climate-change-scientists-what-it-is-why-it-matters/

Chicago

Hodgkins, Richard. COP26: Climate scientists explain what it is and why it matters. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cop-26-climate-change-scientists-what-it-is-why-it-matters/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hodgkins |first1=Richard |title=COP26: Climate scientists explain what it is and why it matters |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=1 November 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cop-26-climate-change-scientists-what-it-is-why-it-matters/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hodgkins2021cop26, author = {Hodgkins, Richard}, title = {{COP26: Climate scientists explain what it is and why it matters}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/cop-26-climate-change-scientists-what-it-is-why-it-matters/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }