11:56
UK environment minister Zac Goldsmith has been speaking about the pledged by 114 world leaders to end deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, which has been coordinating behind the scenes ahead of COP26.
Although there has been great fanfare about the deal today, even backed by Xi Jinping and Jair Bolsonaro, it remains unclear about how commitments will be tracked and what ending deforestation actually means.
“Clearly, monitoring is essential. There’s a lot of work going on at the moment to figure out exactly how different ecosystems in different parts of the world can be measured. But I am not convinced there is a single answer,” Lord Goldsmith said.
“We’re talking about very significant sums of money. And of course, it’s public money. So the public will want to know that that money is being spent properly. That hasn’t always been the case in the past in relation to well intentioned investments to try and stop deforestation.
“Countries making the Glasgow forest pledge will need to be able to demonstrate that money is being invested and it’s not being spent to subsidize failure.”
11:44
Sauli Niinistö, the president of Finland, has reiterated the pledge for his country to become carbon-neutral by 2035.
He said: “Ensuring adequate climate finance is crucial – Finland is doing its part by almost doubling its climate finance to developing countries.”
He also told the Cop26 conference that as an Arctic country, Finland is “particularly concerned about the fast-warming Arctic region”.
He said that as the most forested country in Europe, every year 150 million trees are planted in Finland, adding that “globally we need to strengthen efforts to halt forest loss… Now it is the time to deliver on our pledges and shoulder our human responsibilities,” he said.
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11:27
We have not done enough to get to 1.5C yet – PM spokesperson
Boris Johnson’s spokesman has sounded a more upbeat note about Cop26 today compared with the prime minister’s words at the weekend, warning about the risk of failure at Glasgow.
The UK as hosts are understood to be pleased by progress on forests and the new 2030 commitment from India, but acknowledge that work on climate financing is proving very difficult.
Asked whether Johnson’s weekend gloom had been expectation management, the spokesman said: “The PM felt very much at the G20 that limited progress was made but was by no means the significant boost that was needed. What we’ve seen so far is some early signs that we are starting to make some progress. Again, we are not complacent. This is not a done deal by any means. There is a huge amount of work left to do.
“Currently we are at 2.7C and there is work to do to consider exactly what the commitments announced do to bring that down further, but we have absolutely not done enough to get us to 1.5 so the pressure will be kept up absolutely. It is just important to recognise when countries, when leaders do step up and make commitments that do require change, challenges and significant sums of investment.”
Johnson has still not made a decision on whether to come back at the end of Cop26, and could make a statement from Downing Street on what is agreed rather than heading up to Glasgow again.
Johnson is due to give a press conference at 5pm today before flying back to London.
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10:37
A plan to coordinate the introduction of clean technologies in order to rapidly drive down their cost has been agreed at the Cop26 summit by world leaders, including the UK, US, India and China.
A global transition to green energy and vehicles is vital in tackling the climate crisis and economies of scale mean that costs plummet as production ramps up, as already seen with solar panels and LED lightbulbs.
Countries said they would align standards and coordinate investments to speed up production and bring forward the “tipping point” at which green technologies are more affordable and accessible than the fossil-fuelled alternatives.
The first five breakthroughs being targeted are clean electricity, electric vehicles, green steel, hydrogen and sustainable farming, aiming to make these affordable and available to all nations by 2030 and potentially creating 20m new jobs.
Boris Johnson said:
By making clean technology the most affordable, accessible and attractive choice, the default go-to in what are currently the most polluting sectors, we can cut emissions right around the world
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10:01
US to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030
The US president, Joe Biden, has just announced a pledge to cut global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
As my colleague Patrick Wintour reported this morning, the US is leading an alliance of 90 countries to set out new regulatory measures to limit global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of the decade. China, India and Russia have not joined the pact known as the Global Methane Pledge.
Although methane breaks down relatively quickly in the atmosphere, it is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Reducing these emissions was touted as one of the most immediate opportunities to slow global heating ahead of the summit.
This is what Durwood Zaelke, a lead reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said in August:
Cutting methane is the biggest opportunity to slow warming between now and 2040.
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09:53
In response to today’s announcement to end deforestation by 2030, Yadvinder Malhi, a professor of ecosystem science at the University of Oxford, said it was a “Paris moment” for forests.
“In Paris in 2016 the world’s leaders committed to recognise the concept of net zero, to draw a line in the sand around how much greenhouse gases can be allowed into the atmosphere,” he said. “Now in Glasgow they have committed to a similar aspiration for deforestation and land degradation, to stop and start reversing these by 2030.”
More financial commitment would be needed, but it was striking to see such a significant declaration, especially one including big rainforest nations such as Brazil, Indonesia and DRC, Prof Malhi said.
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09:43
Police in Glasgow have apologised after it emerged that women walking home after dark on Monday were stopped from using well-lit streets near the Cop26 summit, and told to use badly-lit routes instead.
Residents near the Scottish Exhibition Centre venue on the Clyde said police told them to walk long distances through Kelvingrove park and other side streets to get to their homes, because more direct routes were shut down for security reasons. One claimed she was followed by a male officer, despite asking him to leave her.
Police Scotland, which recently unveiled an enhanced strategy to promote women’s safety, said those diversions were temporary and imposed at short notice due to “real-time changes to operational plans.”
Assistant chief constable Gary Ritchie said the diversion would not be introduced, and the force would talk to Glasgow city council about improved lighting in Kelvingrove park.
“While late changes and some level of disruption is inevitable when policing an event the size and scale of Cop26, we understand and apologise for the concern these changes caused and for the inconvenience to those diverted.
“We do, in particular, recognise and acknowledge the commentary from some women who had to walk through the park on their own last night, we want to keep everyone safe and we know that the onus is on us to recognise when we could provide some more support and visibility to reassure people in our communities.”
Claire Stewart
(@claireontoast)I know that #COP26 is a big logistical challenge but I’ve just heard first hand that women on foot on their own are being diverted and directed to walk through Kelvingrove Park alone in the pitch black because Argyle St / Dumbarton Rd is closed?
Not safe.
KayIeigh Quinn
(@kayleighmqu)Wow, Finnieston residents currently on the north side of the street who live on the south side of the street being told to walk through Kelvingrove, down Byres Road to Patrick and then back to Finnieston to get to their flat 100yards away. It’s dark. #COP26
UPDATE: My colleague Nina Lakhani has said:
This happened to me last night! I had to walk back through unlit Kelvingrove Park, took an extra 30 minutes and was damn dangerous with the wet leaves. I asked a cop how I was meant to get home, and he suggested I come back the following day!
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