COP26 outcomes and views

What next after COP? Fund the Future or Face the Fire – Speech by Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, to the Association of Foreign Banks, 16 November 2021. He included this future for pensions:

• Pensions: for over 15 years now the Environment Agency’s own Pension Fund has generated strong financial returns by investing in companies that contribute to a sustainable economy. Our Fund has a commitment to reduce our listed equity emissions by 95% by 2030 and to allocate money to fund the low carbon transition and help build resilience. In 2017 we joined with the Church of England to launch the Transition Pathway Initiative, which empowers investors to align their portfolios with the goals of the Paris Agreement: it now has support from over 100 global investors with combined assets of over $39 trillion.

UK Climate Change Committee press release (2 December 2021) COP26 must launch a reinvigorated UK effort on climate change:

• Download the full CCC Report from COP26: Key outcomes and next steps for the UK
• COP26 concluded with a material increase in ambitions to reduce emissions across the world and the launch of a raft of new initiatives and sector deals. This is a step forward, but how far Glasgow can be considered a success can only be assessed by the actions that follow over the coming year and beyond.
• There is now a path to expected global warming of under 2°C, but only if all the ambition in new mid-century Net Zero targets is delivered, alongside national 2030 emissions targets. Current climate policies around the world do not come close to achieving these aims.
• Following COP26, global temperatures are set to rise by around 2.7°C. The new ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ focuses on the 2020s as the critical period for accelerating climate action. Only concrete steps by 2030 will close the growing gap between ambition for 1.5°C and real-world delivery. This is a crucial 12 months.

COP26 Press Release by the Prime Minister – PM: Glasgow Climate Pact keeps critical 1.5C global warming goal alive

Independent (21 November 2021) “COP26 utterly failed on the only issue that counts: cutting global carbon emissions. The latest IPCC report stated that we needed a 45 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2030. UN analysis of the latest Cop26 pledges suggests that they will lead to a 16 per cent increase“

energypost.eu : (26 November 2021) COP26 and the Glasgow Pact: a summary of achievements, and shortfalls.

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