Inclusive, safe and ambitious? The Glasgow Climate Summit in times of the Corona Pandemic

Under the slogan “Uniting the world to tackle climate change”, the United Kingdom will host the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. COP26 is often considered the most important since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. Its context underlines the urgency: In the summer of 2021, people across the globe experienced extreme weather events and their consequences. Like these experiences, the first part of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms that climate action is becoming increasingly necessary to prevent a – increasingly likely – global temperature increase above 1.5°C.

Thus, after the Corona-related one-year postponement of COP26, expectations are high for announcements by states as well as for decisions. At the same time, the still rampant Corona pandemic requires a safe yet inclusive conference concept.

The climate summit in Glasgow – in conjunction with the G20 summit shortly before – holds the potential to significantly accelerate climate protection efforts worldwide.