After a two-year pandemic break, parties and delegates met again for the first time in November 2021 in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP-26). Considerable achievements were made. The rulebook for the Paris Agreement (PA), including reporting obligations and the fundamental rules for global emissions trading, was finalised. For the first time, the phase-out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies were directly addressed in the closing document, and the 1.5°C target was clearly reaffirmed. This, however, was accompanied by the COP President's remark that its pulse was already very faint and that urgent action is needed.

A central element of the Paris Agreement are the nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which cover all key areas such as emissions reduction, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, etc. They are submitted for a period of 5 years at a time. A number of countries presented new national contributions, particularly in the areas of emissions reduction and net-zero emissions targets, and all countries were called upon to strengthen their NDCs. A special work programme for further urgent emissions reductions, as well as work programmes for a global adaptation goal and for the global stocktake planned for 2023, were adopted, and further work on the topic of loss and damage was agreed upon. The financial pledge of 100 billion annually and a doubling of funding for adaptation measures were reaffirmed, though statements on loss and damage remained very vague...

Read the full report by Renate Christ at: at.scientists4future.org