Climate impacts will 'only get worse': Bill Gates at COP26
More than 100 leaders have promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030
World leaders are set for another day of meetings and announcements on day three of COP26.
More than 100 leaders have promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.
Here are the updates from COP26 -
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Climate impacts will 'only get worse': Bill Gates at COP26
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates in his COP26 speech on Tuesday said that mitigating global warming is not the only job of global leaders over the next few decades.
"Even if we hit our climate targets by 2050, he says people - particularly in poorer countries - are already impacted by the warmer planet and these impacts will only get worse," he said.
He said it is leaders' "responsibility and opportunity to offer these solutions".
Prince William says we must put our 'collective minds' together to solve climate crisis
Prince William has said that "we must look without fear or despair at the challenges ahead" as we have the "ingenuity to make the seemingly impossible possible".
The climate crisis can be solved, he said, "but only if we put our collective minds to it".
China pushes back against 1.5C temperature rise limit aim
China has pushed back against calls for the UN climate conference in Glasgow to aim to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.
The country's top climate negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, said the higher rise of 2C agreed under the 2015 Paris Agreement had to remain up for discussion, reports the BBC.
"If we only focus on 1.5, we are destroying consensus and many countries would demand a reopening of the negotiations," he said.
EU pledges $1.1 billion to protect forests around the world
The EU has pledged $1.1 billion to help protect the world's forests.
The landmark figure was announced by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen in a speech at the COP 26 summit in Glasgow on Tuesday, reports the CNN.
As a part of the pledge, $290 million will be reserved for the Congo Basin pledge, a fund established to protect the world's second largest tropical rainforest against the threats posed by industrial logging and mining.
UK, India launch plan to connect world's power grids at climate summit
Britain and India on Tuesday launched a plan to improve connections between the world's electricity power grids to help accelerate the world's transition to greener energy.
Launched at the COP26 climate talks in Scotland, the plan, dubbed the "Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid" was backed by more than 80 countries, the British government said in a statement.
Johnson says current targets on sustainable aviation fuel 'pathetic'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that current global targets around sustainable aviation fuel were "pathetic" and that the world could do more as he announced plans to drive the adoption of green technology globally.
While admitting the challenge was a "tough nut to crack", he said "guilt free aviation" was possible, citing a joint deal with billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates to spend 400 million pounds ($545.04 million) on the problems of low-carbon aviation.
"The target at the moment is to get to 10% sustainable aviation fuel for the whole world by 2030. How pathetic is that? We can do better than that, folks," he told delegates at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow.
US President Biden: We will lead by example and share climate innovations
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the United States would lead by example when it comes to sharing green technology innovations.
"The United States will lead by example and share with the world our considerable powers of innovation," he said, speaking at the COP26 United Nations climate summit.
Canada pledges 75% cut in methane emissions from oil and gas
Canadain Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that his country has become the first to commit to reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by 75% on 2012 levels by 2030.
Canada is a major oil and gas producer, and while we may associate methane with cows and agriculture, a large chunk of emissions is linked to energy production.
The good news, Trudeau said, is that technologies to help reduce methane emissions within the industry already exist - “so we know that making large-scale reductions is feasible at low costs”.
Japan pledge brings $100B climate funding target closer, US envoy says
The developed world's $100 billion climate financing target could be met a year earlier than expected, US climate envoy John Kerry said on Tuesday, citing new commitments made earlier in the day by Japan.
In 2009, the developed countries most responsible for global warming pledged to provide $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing nations deal with its consequences. That commitment is currently not expected to be met until 2023.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the COP26 United Nations climate conference in Glasgow his country would offer up to $10 billion over five years in additional assistance to support decarbonisation in Asia.
Leaders at global climate talks pledge to cut methane and save forests
Leaders at the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow have pledged to stop deforestation by the end of the decade and slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane to help slow climate change.
The inability of major powers so far to agree more broadly on rapid reductions in the use of fossil fuels, the main cause of manmade global warming, has upset the poorer, smaller countries likely to suffer its worst effects.
Surangel Whipps Jr, president of Palau, a Pacific state of 500 low-lying islands under threat from rising sea levels, told the leaders of the G20 industrial powers in a speech: "We are drowning and our only hope is the life-ring you are holding."
US and EU announce global plan on methane emissions
The US and EU have announced a global plan on methane emissions at COP26.
US President Joe Biden, addressing the conference, opened by thanking everyone who has signed this "game-changing commitment" on reducing methane emissions.
He said one of the most important things we can do is to keep 1.5 degrees in reach and reduce methane emissions "as quickly as possible". Methane, he added, has caused about half the warming that the world is experiencing today.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said cutting back on methane emissions "is one of the most effective things we can do" to stick to a 1.5C rise in global average temperatures.
"We cannot wait for 2050, we have to cut emissions fast," she said.
"It is the lowest hanging fruit."
She added the "greatest potential" for curbing methane levels comes from the energy sector.
Actor DiCaprio arrives at conference
Hollywood actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio has arrived at the COP26 conference centre.
DiCaprio - who starred in the Wolf of Wall Street and Titanic - has long advocated tackling climate change, describing Greta Thunberg as a "leader of our time" when they met in 2019.
He has donated millions to environmental organisations, became a UN climate change representative in 2014, and backed other ventures such as those producing trainers made from natural materials.
Japan ready to offer up to $10B in additional assistance for decarbonisation efforts in Asia
Japan PM Kishida said his country is ready to offer up to $10 billion in additional assistance for five years to 2025 to support decarbonisation in Asia.
Global climate talks deliver moves to cut methane and deforestation
Leaders at the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow have pledged to stop deforestation by the end of the decade and slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane.
While major powers have traded blame for the world's inability to agree on rapid reductions in the use of fossil fuels to limit global warming to manageable levels, there are at least signs of resolve in other areas.
Nearly 90 countries have joined a US and EU-led effort to slash emissions of methane 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, a senior Biden administration official said ahead of a formal announcement on Tuesday.
Bezos pledges $2B for African land restoration
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged $2 billion through his Bezos Earth Fund for land restoration in Africa.
The American billionaire previously indicated he would make investments worth $1 billion at an event with Prince Charles on Monday, reports the BBC.
"We must conserve what we still have, we must restore what we've lost and we must grow what we need to live without degrading the planet for future generations to come," he said.
US to stop methane leaks from oil and gas wells
The US is set to announce measures to prevent millions of tonnes of the greenhouse gas methane from entering the atmosphere.
The measures will target methane leaking from oil and gas rigs across the US, reports the BBC.
It is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and responsible for a third of current warming from human activities.
Biden: We will work with people most impacted by deforestation
US President Joe Biden has said that America will work with people most impacted by deforestation
Biden added that his "whole government approach" will work to: Reduce the drivers of deforestation, create sustainable supply chains and pursue more sustainable commodity sourcing.
At every step, we will work in partnership with the people most impacted by deforestation and most experienced in sustainable land management - local communities, indigenous people, local governments and civil societies - to make sure our approaches are effective and focus on the needs of vulnerable populations," Biden said.
China says Xi was given no option for video address to COP26
China said on Tuesday that President Xi Jinping was not given an opportunity to deliver a video address to the COP26 climate talks in Scotland and had to send a written response instead.
Xi, who is not attending the UN meeting in person, delivered a written statement to the opening "high-level segment for heads of state and government" on Monday in which he offered no additional pledges, while urging countries to keep their promises and "strengthen mutual trust and cooperation".
"As I understand it, the conference organisers did not provide the video link method," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular briefing.
UK's Johnson: We can restore world's forests
UK PM Boris Johnson has told the conference that protecting and restoring the world's forests is crucial to limiting the rise in global temperatures to a maximum of 1.5C.
He called for investment to be channelled into indigenous communities and trillions shifted towards supporting jobs. He said this is the right course for a more prosperous future for everybody, reports the BBC.
"Let's work together not just to protect the forest but also to ensure the forest returns," he said.
"We have to stop the devastating loss of our forests, these great, teeming eco-systems, three trillion pillared cathedrals of nature that are the lungs of our planet and the destruction together with agriculture and other change of land use that accounts for almost a quarter of all global emissions," the UK PM added.
So, if we want to keep the Paris goal of 1.5 degrees in sight and support communities in the front line of climate change, we must protect and restore the world’s forests and I believe we can do it."
Over 100 global leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030
More than 100 global leaders late on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
The joint statement at the COP26 climate talks https://www.reuters.com/business/cop in Glasgow was backed by the leaders of countries including Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which collectively account for 85% of the world's forests.
The Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forest and Land Use will cover forests totaling more than 13 million square miles, according to a statement from the UK prime minister's office on behalf of the leaders.
'You must work with us to stop deforestation': Amazon indigenous community leader says
Tuntiak Katan, co-ordinator of the group Co-ordination of Indigenous Communities of the Amazon Basin, said that governments must work with indigenous groups if they want to end deforestation.
“For years we have protected our way of life and that has protected ecosystems and forests,” he explained from COP26.
Asked if he trusts this COP will deliver more than past summits, he said governments would fail if they continued to use the same methods and channels.
“Without us, no money or policy is going to stop climate change,” he said.
Boris Johnson addresses summit
UK PM Boris Johnson has confirmed the deforestation deal, saying more leaders than ever have now signed up to protect the forests.
He namechecked China, Russia and Brazil, adding that it is not just the range of countries who've signed up that's important but also the involvement of the private sector.
He added that there' is "unparalleled opportunity" for the creation of jobs.
