Iain Todd of our Global Social Challenges team reports from the floor of COP26 at the end of the first week
As a Scot, I am very proud that our country is hosting the COP26 conference. Glasgow was once at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, but it is now a centre for green technology. There are 30,000 visitors here from all over the world, including over 100 national leaders. The city is looking splendid in the late autumn sunshine. But what is it like to attend an event as historic, as necessary, and - yes - as overdue as this one? Let me try my best to set out a few observations at the end of the first week of discussions.
I arrive at the event by public transport. (And quite a few have cycled here.) My bus connects with a fleet of new electric shuttle buses which deliver the delegates to the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), on the banks of the River Clyde. The city has become completely internationalised - every nation, every language, every culture is represented here. So – unlike the G20 meeting of the previous week in Italy - there are delegates at COP26 from the Pacific Island nations, from the indigenous regions of the world, and from a wealth of NGOs. They are all here for one thing - to tackle climate change and to have their voices heard by decision-makers.
But first, there is a two-hour process of admission. This is partly due to COVID checks – you must take a daily test and show that you have registered the result on-line. And partly due to security requirements - there is a huge police presence, UN security guards, and airline-type baggage checks.
Once inside the massive halls, the air of excitement is palpable. If only you could bottle it! The range of issues being exhibited and discussed is vast – climate change affects almost every aspect of human civilisation. Everything is interconnected. So, we have rainforests and renewable energy, finance and farming, gender issues, health effects, transport…. all of life is here.
I begin to realise that I will need to be highly selective in my participation, focussing in on my research interests. I attend a session on the role of trades unions on climate change, convened by the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) and addressed by Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of UN Climate Change. And then one on UK plans to legislate for companies to publish their decarbonisation investment plans. I have an interesting discussion at the South African pavilion on their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which has been published since I completed my PhD there in 2020. I note plans in the Australian pavilion to export solar energy to the largest cities in Indonesia. And so much more of this to come in the second week!
After a while, one begins to notice who is less evident at the event. There is no representation from the interests of fossil fuels, and that of course is understandable. There is a muted representation from China – and this is much commented upon in the media. India shares a lower profile, although on the opening day Narendra Modi did announce – for the first time - a Net Zero target date for his country, of 2070.
In due course the world will come to a view on whether COP26 has been a success, or a failure, or something in-between. But have I managed at least to convey to you the sense of excitement at the event? Listen to a short sound recording from the floor. I hope it helps!
Sound recording COP-26 Floor
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