Was the Glasgow Conference a Turning Point for Climate Change Mitigation?

From 31 October to 13 November 2021, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) took place in Glasgow. A few weeks after the conference, the researchers of the Wuppertal Institute published a short analysis. Now follows their detailed evaluation of the main conference results under the title "Turning Point Glasgow? An assessment of the climate conference COP26".

The focus of the negotiations in Glasgow was on increasing ambition in climate change mitigation. The nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted so far are not sufficient to achieve the long-term objectives of the Paris climate agreement. Finalising the rulebook of the Paris Agreement was another objective of COP26. The rules on most aspects of the agreement could already be adopted in 2018. However, the functioning of the cooperation mechanisms under Article 6 of the Agreement in particular had remained open to date. These enable states to cooperate in the implementation of their climate protection targets and to transfer emission reductions internationally.

The researchers of the Wuppertal Institute agree: The climate conference in Glasgow delivered mixed results. On the one hand, the detailed rules for the operationalisation of the Paris Agreement could be finalised, now putting the focus on the implementation. The results of the conference also specify the level of ambition required, and countries have been asked to further increase their national contributions in the coming year. On the other hand, the climate protection pledges and measures of the parties to the Paris Agreement remain far too weak, even after Glasgow. And also in other areas, such as climate finance and dealing with climate change-related loss and damage, the results of COP26 fell short of expectations.

The detailed analysis report is available free of charge via the following link.