Uniting the world to tackle climate change – UK, U.S. & EU on the road to COP26

Six years after the landmark Paris climate accord was agreed in France, a European country is once again organising a key global climate summit. As host, the UK aims to “secure the highest level of ambition that the world has to offer” – a somewhat vague yet tough goal in a pandemic year, if taken seriously.

As an independent actor on the global stage following Brexit, the United Kingdom wants to build its clout as a leading global climate champion and an effective facilitator of climate negotiations. It does so at a time when new U.S. president Joe Biden is leading his country back to the table with the support of climate envoy and former state secretary John Kerry, whose explicit task is to seize back leadership on climate. Europe, meanwhile, aims to be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and says it is “leading the way” with its sustainable growth strategy, the European Green Deal.

COP26 is the first climate conference since governments were expected to submit more ambitious climate action plans for 2030 known as the nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The pledges are the first test of the so-called “ratchet mechanism,” a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement designed to increase climate ambition over time. Based on the NDC Synthesis Report from March 2021, the UN said all nations must step up efforts to reduce climate-harmful emissions to meet Paris Agreement goals. The report covered submissions up to 31 December 2020 and included new or updated NDCs by 75 countries, which represent approximately 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Countries are also expected to have handed in their long-term decarbonisation visions for mid-century by the time of the COP. Meanwhile, developed countries had committed to provide 100 billion U.S. dollars per year in climate finance to developing countries by 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the context for international climate action and finance, and it is unlikely the target was met last year.

Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), laid out her goals for the conference: honour these pre-2020 pledges, wrap up outstanding negotiation items, lower emissions and raise ambition, and leave no one behind. Can the UK live up to these expectations?

Key questions:

·         How does the UK government plan to fill its role as global climate leader?

·         What can other big international gatherings contribute to climate action, e.g. the Biden climate summit and the G7 and G20 summits?

·         Will the new U.S. administration steal the UK’s thunder on the global climate stage?

·         What will the EU’s role be in the run-up to the November COP26 summit?

·         What do vulnerable states across the globe expect from COP26?

·         What do various non-EU countries want at the global negotiating table in exchange for raising their own ambition levels?