With COP26 coming up shortly, I thought I would write a little blog about it. This will have all the information that I think is relevant to know before the conference.
What is Cop26?
COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference. For nearly three decades the UN has arranged global climate summits where almost every nation meets and makes agreements and pledges to try to slow climate change. This year’s summit will take place in Glasgow, UK.
Who participates in COP26?
The UN summit hosts almost every nation, so the summit will include world leaders alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses, and citizens.
When is COP26?
COP26 will start October 31 and end on November 12, with negotiations spanning twelve days.
How does Cop26 get its name?
The UN’s global climate summits are called COPs, which stands for Conference of the Parties. This is the 26th annual summit (COP26 was supposed to be last year, but was postponed due to the pandemic), making it COP26.
What is the IPCC report?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN-organized association of top climate scientists, releases a report on climate change every six or seven years. They released one earlier this summer, which is why this conference is so important.
Why is COP26 so important?
COP26 is not just another international summit. COP26 has a unique urgency. This year’s IPCC report says that we need to take strong actions and act now to avoid catastrophic climate change.
How is this related to the Paris agreement?
The Paris agreement (COP21), the major climate summit in 2015, set the goal of keeping global warming well below 2ºC, and hopefully below 1.5ºC. The IPCC report explains that we are not doing nearly enough to reach those goals and that there needs to be much more action.
What is COY16?
COY16 is one of the largest entirely youth-led global youth climate conferences in the world. The conference takes place from October 28-31, just days before COP26. COY16 serves as a space for capacity building and policy training, and its main objective is to gather youth statements and opinions to share at COP26 and to raise the voices of the global youth to the United Nations decision-making process.
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