Loading

Forum COP26 Live Highlights 2021

From 31 October to 13 November, world leaders and negotiators convened in Glasgow for COP26. The Glasgow Climate Pact that emerged from the two weeks of negotiations has been highlighted as enough to keep the Paris Goals of limiting global warming to 1.5°C alive, but by no means sufficient. Some progress was made to close the emissions gap, but analysis suggests that pledges still hold the world on track for a 2.4°C temperature rise; the 100 Billion promised at Paris was not fully delivered, and developing countries were left unsatisfied with the status of progress on compensation for inevitable impacts already being felt from climate change. On a positive note – progress was made on Article 6 and for the first time in the UNFCCC process, there is an explicit reference to phasing down unabated coal power and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. A detailed analysis of the COP negotiations outcomes can be found here for those who wish to delve into the details.

What truly stood out at COP26 was the unprecedented mobilization of business, citizens, academia and others both pushing for bolder outcomes, but also taking action themselves. The Race to Zero campaign has grown to over 5000 businesses, 67 regions, over 440 financial institutions, 1,000 plus educational institutions and more - all committed to halving emissions between 2020 and 2030. These same actors also launched an incredible number of commitments and initiatives, that if delivered will drive true progress – from financial institutions committing to over 130 trillion to finance the net-zero transition; bold commitments to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030; to company commitments to invest in emerging climate technology solutions.

The World Economic Forum as the international organization for public-private cooperation has played an important role in convening and mobilizing joint public-private action in the lead up to and during COP26, with a summary of highlights below. The Annual Meeting in Davos 2022 will continue to push urgent progress on climate change – with a particular focus on further raising climate ambitions and translating commitments into clear near-term actions.

World Economic Forum at COP26: Highlights in Numbers

To complement the COP26 Programme, and because not everyone could make it to Glasgow, the Forum invited experts and partners to participate in seven public sessions live-streamed on the Forum COP26 Live event page. The Forum engaged a diverse global audience to help bring Glasgow to the world, and the world to Glasgow:

  • 4.3 million social media video views
  • 7 sessions with over 180,000 views
  • 5,500 media mentions
  • 360, 000 views on Agenda Stories
  • 53, 000 Podcast listens
  • 100 social media videos published
  • 60 Partner Updates with over 4,000 views
  • 28 interviews
  • 17 launches

Highlights

The Forum’s COP26 Live programme from 1-12 November centred on five core themes:

  1. Global Ambition and System Transformation
  2. Nature and Land-Use Transition
  3. Financing the Global Net-Zero Transition
  4. Industry Transformation
  5. All of Society Mobilization

Global Ambition and System Transformation

COP26 narrowed the ambition gap between the goal set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C, and individual country commitments to meet that goal. Current climate pledges, including recently-enhanced pledges from India, Brazil, and Australia, amongst others, would be enough to hold the rise in global temperatures to 2.4 °C by the end of the century if fully implemented. However, there still remains significant work to map out how these pledges will be achieved. The Forum helped mobilize an unprecedented number of business leaders at COP26 committed to kick-starting a 'decade of delivery' to make critical steps to achieving our collective climate goals.

Nature and Land-Use Transition

This is the first time that nature-based solutions (NBS) to limit global warming have been included in the agenda at COP. The role of NBS for climate change mitigation and adaptation is in the draft COP cover text and it is also the first time the text recognizes the need to strengthen ocean-based action to tackle climate change, reinforcing the Forum's message on the need for cross-sector collaboration. COP26 signalled an unprecedented and systemic shift to address unsustainable land use and accelerate a transition toward a low carbon, nature positive and climate-resilient future.

  • More than 100 leaders, representing over 85% of the world’s forests, committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
  • 45 governments pledged urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming.
  • More than $20 billion of public and private investment has been committed to a broad range of nature-related measures.
  • The LEAF Coalition (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) has mobilized $1 billion USD for countries and states committed to increasing ambition to protect tropical and sub-tropical forests and reduce deforestation.
  • Twelve of the world’s biggest global agricultural trading and processing companies have issued a joint statement committing to a sectoral roadmap by COP27 for enhanced supply chain action consistent with a 1.5°C pathway.
  • Members of Friends of Ocean Action and other ocean leaders launched the third Because the Ocean Declaration. This declaration calls for the adoption of a COP26 decision encouraging all Parties to the UN Climate Convention to integrate ocean-climate-biodiversity linkages in their plans to implement the Paris Agreement and to recognize the need for more ambition on all sides to tackle climate change and protect the ocean.
  • Professor Klaus Schwab gave a keynote lecture at World Food Day Ceremony – Food and Agriculture Organization of UN (FOA).
  • The Forum also hosted an Issue Briefing with the President of Colombia, Office of the President of Colombia, the Mayor of Tirana, Albania Government, and Gustau Alegret, International Journalist; on How Can Cities Prevent Environmental Crises?
  • 12 entrepreneurs and winners of the Carbon Market Challenge are using the power of carbon markets to fight climate change
Check out the Blue Carbon UpLink Challenge

Financing the Global Net-Zero Transition

COP26 brought a clear north star for finance to mobilize around with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and kicked off a mechanism for finance to act under a unified and framework where financial institutions will be invited to disclose consistent, comparable, and reliable information on climate change.

  • Over 30 financial institutions with more than USD $8.7 trillion in assets under management committed to eliminating agricultural commodity-driven deforestation risks in their investment and lending portfolios. The Tropical Forest Alliance was key a partner in this work.
  • The Financing the Transition to a Net-Zero Future initiative launched a discussion on solutions and financing mechanisms that can accelerate technologies that are key for the transition of our economies, building on the findings of the Financing the Transition to a Net-Zero Future report.
  • Through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, over $130 trillion of private capital is now committed to transforming the economy for net zero. GFANZ has grown 25-fold since April to 450 firms from 45 countries.
  • 38 countries welcomed the announcement of a new international body, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop a global baseline for high-quality sustainability disclosure standards in the public interest.
  • The Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) launched the Principles for Financing a Just and Urgent Energy Transition (JUET Principles) supported by an esteemed group of private and civil society sector signatories including HSBC, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), Prudential plc, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and growing. Stakeholders across the renewable energy space are invited to learn more and express their support of the JUET Principles.

Industry Transformation

To reach the goals of the Paris Agreement the world needs to shift to low-carbon intensive practices. Initiatives across the Forum aim to do just that - tackle decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors and put them on net-zero pathways - with the technology needed to achieve it. COP26 demonstrated the important role of technology and innovation to decarbonize. There is a unique role for the Forum and public-private cooperation in stimulating, scaling, and deploying low or zero-carbon technology to deliver a global transition to net zero.

Watch Accelerating Zero-Emission Mobility for All

All of Society Mobilization

Tackling the climate crisis requires action from all parts of society. COP26 was defined by an unprecedented mobilization of businesses, civil society, cities, and youth, faith, and indigenous groups. The Forum helped mobilize and provided a platform at COP26 for the most climate ambitious action from diverse parts of our global society.

Quotes from COP Youth Activists
Watch our closing session
Appreciate