United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2021

United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2021
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Name	United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2021
Other names	COP26
Date	31 October–13 November 2021
Location	Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Organizers	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Italy
Participants	Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, European Union, international organizations, non-governmental organizations

United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2021 The 2021 international climate summit held in Glasgow convened state and non-state actors to negotiate multilateral responses to the climate change crisis under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process. The conference gathered heads of state, ministers, negotiators and representatives from civil society, business and research institutions to update targets, finalize implementing rules and mobilize finance ahead of the mid-century decarbonization pathways promoted by the Paris Agreement.

Background and organization

The summit built on prior multilateral diplomacy including the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, and outcomes from past Conferences of the Parties such as COP21 and COP25. Host arrangements involved the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as Presidency and the Italian Republic as partner, coordinating with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat and bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Preparatory meetings included ministerial gatherings, regional forums such as the African Union climate discussions, and technical negotiations influenced by reports from IPCC Sixth Assessment Report contributors and research centres like Grantham Research Institute.

Venue, dates, and participation

Held at the SEC Centre, Glasgow from 31 October to 13 November 2021, the conference hosted delegations from nearly all Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as observers from the European Union, United States of America, People's Republic of China, India, Brazil, Russian Federation, Japan, Canada, Australia, and small island states such as the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. Attendance included heads of state from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and delegations led by ministers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Non-state participants encompassed representatives from United Nations Environment Programme, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, and multinational corporations.

Key issues and agenda

The conference agenda emphasized implementation of the Paris Agreement rules, completion of the Paris Rulebook, and acceleration of national Nationally Determined Contributions under Article 4. Discussions foregrounded mitigation pathways toward net-zero articulated by actors such as the European Commission, fossil fuel exporters including the State of Qatar, and major emitters like the People's Republic of China and United States of America. Adaptation finance and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage mechanism engaged delegations from the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries Group. Other agenda items involved rules for international carbon markets under Article 6 influenced by negotiators from Brazil, Norway, and Switzerland; scaling of climate finance commitments linked to pledges by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; and phase-down discussions touching exporters such as the Russian Federation and Australia.

Negotiations and outcomes

Negotiations produced the Glasgow Climate Pact, reflecting compromises among blocs including the European Union, the United States of America, the G77 and China, and the African Group. Key textual outcomes addressed transparency frameworks, carbon market accounting under Article 6, and schedules for revised Nationally Determined Contributions influenced by interventions from the Least Developed Countries Group, Alliance of Small Island States, and the Umbrella Group. The final decision referenced a "phase-down" of unabated coal power—a formulation that mediated positions of the People's Republic of China, the United States of America, the European Union, and major coal producers such as the Republic of India and the Federative Republic of Brazil. The conference advanced modalities for adaptation finance and established workstreams for loss and damage advocated by Vulnerable Twenty Group members and negotiators from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

National commitments and pledges

Alongside formal decisions, parties and non-state actors announced climate finance, emissions targets, and sectoral pledges. Major national updates included enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the European Union, and accelerated commitments from the United States of America and the People's Republic of China on sectoral peaking. Financial pledges involved contributions to the Green Climate Fund from donor states including the United States of America and pledges for adaptation finance by members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sectoral initiatives featured commitments to end deforestation involving the Government of Brazil and international partners like the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Norway, as well as methane reduction pledges championed by the Global Methane Pledge co-convened by the United States of America and European Commission.

Reactions and assessments

Responses to the summit ranged from praise by advocacy organizations such as WWF and Friends of the Earth for incremental progress to criticism from campaigners and analysts at institutions like the Global Carbon Project and Stockholm Environment Institute for insufficient ambition on fossil fuel phase-out and finance delivery. Political leaders from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America presented the outcomes as a step toward implementing the Paris Agreement, while delegations from the G77 and China and the African Group emphasized gaps in developed-country finance commitments and implementation of prior pledges under the Convention. Media coverage in outlets across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, and China debated credibility of net-zero pathways and timelines proposed by major emitters.

Implementation and follow-up measures

Post-conference implementation relied on follow-up through the UNFCCC secretariat's timing for updated Nationally Determined Contributions and the timetable for the Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement. Bodies such as the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, and multilateral development banks including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank were central to operationalizing finance commitments. Civil society networks like Climate Action Network and city alliances including C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group were tasked with translating sectoral pledges into policy. The outcomes set markers for subsequent diplomatic engagements at forums such as the G7 summit, the G20 summit, and future sessions of the Conference of the Parties.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences