That’s me done for today!
Here is the evening summary of today’s events:
- The legitimacy of the Cop26 climate summit was called into question by a number of organisations who said restrictions on access to negotiations were unprecedented.
- The fossil fuel industry has the largest delegation at Cop26, according to campaigners, who say the sector has more people attending than any other country. Analysis of the UN’s provisional list of attendees suggests that 503 delegates have affiliations to oil gas or coal firms.
- Barack Obama called on world leaders to “step up now” and criticised China and Russia for a “dangerous absence of urgency” on the climate crisis.
- But China is doing more for the climate than it’s given credit for, according to a senior Beijing adviser who said the country already has concrete actions in place, not distant targets like other countries.
- Meanwhile, protesters gathered in Glasgow for the Scientist Rebellion protest. One academic said that not acting on the climate crisis “might just be the worst crime in human history”.
- Police broke into a building providing shelter for climate activists and delegates in the early hours of this morning, occupants say.
- Survivors of extreme weather associated with the climate crisis have been speaking out at Cop26 on the day the summit focuses on “loss and damage”.
- Rich countries’ refusal to discuss loss and damage is “diplomatic bullying”, says Bolivia’s chief negotiator, Diego Pacheco Balanza.
- Rich countries must also come up with emissions reduction plans and money to help developing nations deal with the climate emergency, says the European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.
- Finally, African nations want to start open discussions at Cop26 about channeling $700bn (£520bn) every year from 2025 to help them deal with the climate crisis.
I leave you with the news that Glenfiddich distillery has created a limited-edition 26-year-old whisky to commemorate Cop26. There will be a charity auction later this month, with all proceeds going to Stop Climate Chaos Scotland.
Have a great evening.
Phoebe
Updated
African nations want Cop26 to open discussions this week on a mega-financing deal that would channel $700bn (£520bn) every year from 2025 to help developing nations adapt to the climate crisis.
Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, the chair of the African Group of Negotiators on climate change, said the increased finance was needed for the accelerated phase of decarbonisation required to hold global heating to 1.5C.
He said: “The work on this needs to start now ... Talks about finance take time so we need to have a roadmap now with clear milestones on how to achieve targets after 2025 to ensure the money flows every year.”
Read the full story here:
Updated
EU climate envoy calls for rich countries to come up with emissions reduction plans
The European Union’s most senior climate envoy has called on other rich countries to come up with emissions reduction plans and money to help developing nations deal with the climate emergency.
The European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans said he hoped to convince other major emitters “not just to declare a date for carbon neutrality or climate neutrality” but come forward with policies to achieve it.
Since the EU agreed its net zero goal in 2019, it has proposed a vast set of legal proposals to transform the European economy, although the measures are yet to be agreed by the EU member states and European parliament.
Timmermans said: “If we don’t make a success of this Cop, it’s difficult to see how we can reduce [in] half the emissions in less than ten years. It needs to happen right now.”
Earlier in the day, the veteran Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout sounded a note of caution on climate pledges unveiled last week, which suggested the world could restrict global heating to below 2C.
“We all have to acknowledge there is a huge difference in the value of these pledges,” he said “Some pledges are really serious, for example the EU with its Fit for 55 package. But for example the pledge of Australia is literally a brochure.”
Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister, also called on wealthy countries to close the gap in fulfilling a long-standing promise to mobilise $100bn a year to help developed countries deal with the climate crisis. “We have been doing our share as the EU … I am not complacent at all but I am just saying to the other developed countries if we can do our share I am sure you can do your share,” he said.
We all have to acknowledge there is a huge difference in the value of these pledges. Some pledges are really serious, for example the EU with its Fit for 55 package. But for example the pledge of Australia is literally a brochure.
Timmermans didn’t name names, but it’s no secret that the EU expects the United States to go far beyond Joe Biden’s recent goal to aim for an $11.4bn contribution by 2024.
But the EC vice president was also challenged on the EU’s own leadership credentials, when the Guardian’s Fiona Harvey asked him about countries such as Poland and Germany that planned to keep coal in their energy mix for some years to come.
Timmermans conceded that coal was a big challenge, but insisted the EU was making progress, citing ongoing talks in Germany to form a governing coalition that could speed up the coal phase out, as well as changes in Poland’s stance on energy.
“Things are speeding up for political reasons, for climate reasons but also simply because coal doesn’t have a future,” he said.
Updated
Youth climate activists: Can Cop26 save the world?
Guardian Live is holding a special live stream event with young climate activists from around the world on Wednesday 10 November 2021, 8pm GMT. It will be hosted by the film director Franny Armstrong. Tickets are available here
Updated
In an interview with the Guardian, Bolivia’s chief negotiator, Diego Pacheco Balanza, blasted the refusal by rich countries to discuss loss and damage or compensation at Cop26 as evidence of “diplomatic bullying”.
“There’s been a systematic attempt by developed countries to remove all discussion about responsibility, compensation and direct climate finance from the negotiations, it’s shameful,” he said. “Instead, they want us to focus on carbon markets and their 2050 net zero narrative which is completely meaningless. The net zero narrative is a big lie. We need to eliminate greenhouse gasses now, not in 30 years.”
Net zero has been condemned by the vast majority of civil society groups, social movements and indigenous people as climate denialism as it allows polluting countries and corporations to offset carbon emissions rather than stop emitting them.
Pacheco added: “We reject the narrative that the market is the solution. We want to focus on strengthening direct cooperation from developed countries to developing countries. They only want to talk about loans, but we want direct aid and the transfer of knowledge and technologies. They don’t want to discuss loss and damage, only mitigation through forests which will serve as an instrument for carbon credits.”
In response to the first draft of the Glasgow decision text, published today, which contains no mention of phasing out fossil fuels, Pacheco said: “It shows how developed countries are trying to impose the net zero and carbon markets narrative, it’s a form of diplomatic bullying. They are always trying to destroy what’s been achieved at previous climate negotiations and start again, so we never move forward.”
It should be noted that the governing party has been previously criticised by activists for passing legislation that incentivised farmers to burn forests in order to open up new land to farming and cattle.
Here is George Monbiot’s take on this:
Updated
'I feel so tired of just fleeing': Survivors of the extreme weather speak out
Survivors of the extreme weather impacts of the climate crisis have been speaking out at Cop26 on the day the summit focuses on “loss and damage” – the phrase used for the unavoidable and increasing harm from global heating.
“When the death toll reached 6,300 they stopped counting,” said Marinel Ubaido, the Philippines and a survivor of super typhoon Haiyan, which hit eight years ago today. “There are still 1,600 plus dead bodies missing.”
“Today we’re still shouting for justice for our friends and families who have lost their lives,” she said. “We are fighting for a future that is not riddled with anxiety and fear that another Haiyan might come anytime. We do not deserve to live in fear. We deserve a hopeful future. We demand urgent action.”
Many people remain in the same vulnerable places, Ubaido said, as their livelihoods are there. “I feel so tired of just fleeing and evacuating and then I don’t even know if we will have a house to go back to.”
Jo Dodds, from the small coastal town of Tarthra, in New South Wales, Australia, said 69 of its 400 homes have been destroyed by wildfires since 2018: “Since then, I have lived in fear. It’s destroying our communities, it’s killing our people.
“People talk about bushfire being a normal aspect of Australian climates, but I can tell you these are not,” she said. “There is nobody who isn’t extremely alarmed at the catastrophic heat and speed and unpredictability of these fires. We’ve had fires during the winter with snow on the hills behind us that went on for seven weeks.”
Dodds said: “Australia should be stepping up to help developing countries who are feeling the impact of climate change even more profoundly than we are. But it’s not even helping its own people.”
It’s destroying our communities, it’s killing our people.
Sven Harmeling, at the NGO Care, said loss and damage has been part of Cop discussions for at least eight years, but was not getting the serious attention it needs: “Developing countries still need to fight over whether to [even] have an agenda item or not.
“There must be clear progress on loss and damage and identifying new sources of finance,” he said. “Without that, this Cop cannot be a successful response to climate injustice. This is absolutely required to help stop this climate madness.”
Yamide Dagnet, at the World Resources Institute, said: “The ostrich policy, from developed countries who hide behind the fear of liability and compensation, has not worked and is not working.” She noted that Tuvalu and Antigua and Barbuda have said they may sue to get the money.
Lisa Plattner, at WWF-Austria said the economic impacts of global heating are estimated at $290bn to $580bn a year up to 2030. She said it was down to Alok Sharma and the UK presidency to make progress happen this week: “This is the time of the presidency.”
Updated
The occupants of a squatted building in Glasgow, which was occupied to provide emergency accommodation for climate activists and delegates, have accused police of trying to break into their site with a battering ram early on Monday morning.
The activists at Baile Hoose, a derelict homeless shelter in the Tradeston district, said up to 20 officers from the Metropolitan police and Welsh forces mounted the raid at 3am, claiming to be acting under the orders of the Scottish police.
The activists said Police Scotland officers arrived before those involved in the raid entered the squatted parts of the complex and “calmed the situation. [It] was only then that the Met and Welsh police backed off”.
All is well!
— Baile Hoose (@BaileHoose) November 8, 2021
MET and Wales smashed through the adjacent building and tried to smash through the doors to raid us.
Police Scotland came and calmed the situation. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/3dNUdOex9s
One occupant said: “Baile Hoose has provided a safe home and meals for hundreds of activists during this summit. There have been a lot of people who have travelled here from all over the world and the country, and quite often people from marginalised communities are not getting their voices heard.”
Glasgow city council, which owns the building, asked the activists to leave last week, warning its water supply could be unsafe, and the building could contain asbestos.
A police spokesperson said: “Around 3am on Monday 8 November, officers attended at a property on Centre Street, Glasgow, following concerns for the safety and security of those using the building. Officers will continue to engage with those currently in the property.”
Updated
Just as Obama finishes his speech in the blue zone, a large crowd has gathered on the south side of King George V bridge in Glasgow for a Scientist Rebellion protest.
The group has been banned from the city centre after blocking the bridge over the weekend, when 21 activists were arrested.
“It was the first mass arrest of scientists over the climate crisis in history,” said theoretical physicist Mike Lynch-White, one of those arrested. He said the protest was the first disruptive action during the summit that wasn’t preemptively stopped by the police.
“We were banned from the centre of Glasgow even though all we were trying to do is non-violently disobey and prevent climate collapse. It’s not proportionate, it’s not reasonable,” he said.
#ScientistRebellion gathering on the south side of King V Bridge in Glasgow, just outside the boundary of the city centre which they were banned from after their action over the weekend pic.twitter.com/Z2ghg4hsl4
— Jessica Murray (@JournoJess_) November 8, 2021
“There are people all over Glasgow right now making choices which are going to lead to enormous human suffering but it’s the people who are trying to highlight that facing restrictions and loss of freedom,” said astrophysicist Dr Tim Hewlett. “On an individual level the police have been quite decent to us, but I’m sure that’s mainly because we are wearing white [lab] coats.”
He said his profession gives him a unique perspective, adding the climate crisis “might not just be the worst crime in human history, it could be the worst crime in the galaxy.”
Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty
Updated
Obama enters the final stanza of his speech by saying that averting disastrous global hearing “will not be easy, it is going to be hard”, citing slow-moving governments, cynical businesses and misinformation spread on social media. “Getting people to work together on a global scale takes time and right now that’s time we don’t have,” he said.
He then launches into a plea to work with those who are indifferent to the climate crisis, or who are affected by the transition to clean energy, and asks those in the room to prepare for messy compromises.
“Gird yourself for a marathon, not a sprint,” he says, before quoting Shakespeare’s Othello: “What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
“Our planet has been wounded by our actions, those wounds won’t be healed today or tomorrow [but] I believe we can secure a better future,” he says. “We have to.
“To all the young people out there, as well as those who consider yourself young at heart, I want you to stay angry. I want you to stay frustrated. But challenge that anger and harness that frustration. Keep pushing harder and harder for more and more – because that is what is required to meet this challenge.”
Obama finishes by saying: “I’m ready for the long haul if you are, so let’s get to work.” There is rapturous applause from the audience.
Updated
“It is going to be hard,” Obama says about keeping temperatures to below 1.5C.
“International co-operation has always been difficult, it is made more difficult by misinformation and propaganda that comes out of social media these days.
“Getting people to work together on a global scale takes time, and that’s time we don’t have ... If we work hard enough for long enough, those partial victories add up.”
Updated
Obama tells Cop26 delegates we won’t have more ambitious climate plans without pressure from voters.
“It will not be enough to simply mobilise the converted, it will not be enough to preach to the choir … Protests are necessary to raise awareness, hashtag campaigns can spread awareness,” he said.
He is encouraging young people to speak to their families about climate change because they will listen, saying it’s important to convert people who do not agree, or are indifferent to the issue.
“We have to do a little more listening – we can’t just yell at them or say they’re ignorant, or tweet at them,” he said.
Photograph: Robert Perry/EPA
Updated
“The most important energy in this movement is coming from young people,” says Obama, who references his two daughters, both in their early 20s.
“The reason is simple – they have more stake in this fight than anyone else. That is why I want to spend the rest of my time today talking to young people.
“If those older people won’t listen, they need to get out the way,” he said.
One youth activist, Alexandria Villaseñor, said lots of young people hadn’t been able to get into the room to hear Obama speak.
Today Pres. Obama is at #COP26, and apparently, he has a message for youth. But youth won't be in the room. There's no tix for most of us. Tix were limited to 2 per delegation or NGO, and the adults took them.
— Alexandria Villaseñor is at COP26! (@AlexandriaV2005) November 8, 2021
Theres no video link either.
Guess we'll watch it later on YouTube 🤷♀️
Updated
Obama criticises China and Russia for 'dangerous absence of urgency'
Barack Obama is currently addressing a very full room, opening with a cheery ‘Hello, Glasgow!’ The former US president, tieless and looking relaxed, says that he doesn’t need to attend such conferences anymore but “you will have a hard time keeping me away” when it comes to the future of the planet.
Obama says that “meaningful progress” has been made since the Paris climate accords, which he helped to strike, but acknowledges that more needs to be done.
“What is also true, collectively and individually we are still falling short,” he says. “We have not done nearly enough to address this crisis, we will need to do more.”
Obama admits that “some progress stalled” when Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris deal. “I wasn’t real happy about that,” he adds, but says the “US is back” under Joe Biden’s leadership.
He also believes that, despite opposition within the Democratic party, some version of Biden’s ambitious $555bn climate package will pass in Congress in the coming weeks. “It will set the United States on course to meet its new climate targets,” he says.
In 2015, rapport between Obama administration negotiators and their Chinese counterparts was seen as paving the way to the global Paris accord.
Obama criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for not joining other global leaders at the climate talks in Glasgow, saying he found it “particularly disappointing” that their leaders haven’t shown up to Cop26.
He blames the pandemic and the rise of nationalism for a breakdown in international relations that has affected dealing with the climate crisis. He also has a dig at Republicans back home for showing “active hostility” to climate science.”
“One thing should transcend day to day politics and geopolitics and that’s climate change,” Obama says. “The world has to step up and it has to step up now.”
The 44th US president admits that sometimes he feels “bleak” about the future of humanity and that “images of dystopia start creeping into my dreams”. But he called on leaders and activists not to give in to cynicism and praised the work of young climate campaigners, which provokes the first round of applause during his speech.
Updated
As Obama appeals for more help for those on the frontline of the climate crisis and calls to end years of deadlock over cash for climate-linked damages and losses, here is a message from a climate activist, Vanessa Nakate -
Mr @BarackObama, I was 13 when you promised $100B #ClimateFinance. The US has broken that promise, it will cost lives in Africa. Earth's richest country does not contribute enough to life-saving funds. You want to meet #COP26 youth. We want action. Obama & @POTUS #ShowUsTheMoney pic.twitter.com/40HCsqA5s3
— Vanessa Nakate (@vanessa_vash) November 8, 2021
Updated
Hello! Phoebe Weston here, I’m taking over the live blog this afternoon, if you have any questions/tips/comments please get in touch: phoebe.weston@guardian.co.uk
Updated
That is all from me. I am handing over to my colleague Phoebe Weston who will update you on developments at COP26 this afternoon. Follow her on Twitter at @phoeb0.
If you are looking for a change of pace, the world champion poet Emi Mahmoud has released a poem about the impacts that climate change is having on displaced people around the world.
Here is an extract from Di Baladna:
If you are reading this, I forgive you.
You have grown far from the heart of me, my child
have lost the familiar love we held for one another
in your first years of life.
When you were young, you marvelled
at the plants and critters that ran across
my bosom, you worshiped the water,
swam up and down my rivers,
drank from my rain, laughed at each first snow,
begged for sun on the cloudy days.
Watch Mahmoud perform the poem in full here.
Greenpeace has been reacting to the first draft of the Glasgow final decision text which countries are working to agree at Cop26. They describe it as “exceptionally weak” and point out that it fails to mention phasing out fossil fuels. Greenpeace says the first draft of a Cop text is usually relatively ambitious before it is negotiated down by countries for a final agreement. “For the first draft to be so weak does not bode well,” the group says.
Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, says: “To keep 1.5 alive, four words must be added: ‘fossil fuels phase out’, and countries must come back next year to close the gap.”
Updated
Obama: 'Island states are the canary in the coalmine'
The former US president has been speaking for the first time at Cop26 at an event with leaders of island states threatened by rising oceans. He tells the event he is “an island kid”, describing islands as the “canary in the coalmine” for action on the climate.
Obama says “our islands are threatened more than ever” and praises the current US president Joe Biden for giving them the attention they deserve. He says wealthy nations “have an added burden to make sure we are working with and helping and assisting those who are less responsible and less able but more vulnerable to this oncoming crisis”.
He concludes his remarks with a Hawaiian proverb: “Unite to move forward.”
Obama says: “It’s a reminder that if you all want to paddle a canoe you better all be rowing in the same direction and at the same time, every oar has to move in unison, that’s the only way that you move forward.” He says he defends US negotiators, saying they stick up for island nations in domestic politics.
Updated
Obama arrives at Cop26
The former US president has arrived in the blue zone. Here are some photos of his arrival alongside the US climate envoy John Kerry.
Updated
China defends action on the climate
My colleague Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s global environment editor, has been speaking with Chinese negotiators about their thoughts on progress so far in Glasgow.
Chinese officials are sceptical of claims that Cop26 commitments will keep global heating below 2C, and want other countries to focus on concrete actions rather than distant targets in the final week of the talks, he reports.
They feel that China, the world’s biggest emitter, is doing more than it is given credit for, including plans to peak coal consumption by 2025 and add more wind and solar power capacity by 2030 than the entire installed electricity system of the US.
“There has been a lot of criticism of China’s attitude in the media, but many of them are based on incomprehension or misunderstanding,” said Wang Yi, a senior adviser to the Chinese delegation.
Read the full story below.
Updated
Lee White, Gabon’s environment minister, is giving an update on behalf of the Africa group in the plenary. Carbon Brief’s Simon Evans has the key technical points covered.
[Sharma asking parties to be brief]
— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 8, 2021
Gabon for AGN
expect developed countries with higher emissions to provide ambitious NDCs
request synthesis report to provide for differentiated peaking under Article 4 of Paris
"unfortunate" re pre-2020 gap, which should be closed
Gabon
— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 8, 2021
"Adaptation is a core and fundamental element of the Paris Agreement"
raises importance global goal on adaptation
"key priority of AGN is finance" - wants agreement on long-term finance
Gabon
— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 8, 2021
concerned that annex I parties haven't met legally binding obligations
on post-2025 finance goal needs to take into account needs of developing countries
calls for minimum $1.3tn per year by 2030 on grant basis with balance btwn adaptation/mitigation
Updated
Outside of the plenary, the world’s media is waiting for the arrival of Barack Obama. The BBC’s science editor, David Shukman, has posted a picture from inside the blue zone.
Waiting for @BarackObama - haven’t seen crowds like this at a climate COP since @GretaThunberg appeared in Madrid in 2019 #COP26 pic.twitter.com/KO2UtLkqgI
— David Shukman (@davidshukmanbbc) November 8, 2021
Updated
Fossil fuel industry has largest delegation at Cop26, say campaigners
The fossil fuel industry has hundreds of people accredited to the key climate talks in Glasgow - giving the sector a bigger delegation than any country, campaigners have claimed.
Analysis of the UN’s provisional list of named attendees suggests 503 delegates at Cop26 who are either directly affiliated with fossil fuel companies or are part of country delegations but are affiliated to oil, gas or coal firms, PA reports.
That means fossil fuel representation outstrips the largest single country delegation by around two dozen people, according to the assessment by campaigners at Corporate Accountability, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Glasgow Calls Out Polluters and Global Witness.
Fossil fuel lobbyists far outweigh the delegations of some of the most vulnerable countries at the conference, which has also faced criticism for a lack of access for at-risk countries and communities because of travel restrictions and a lack of vaccines in developing nations due to the pandemic.
The groups said their analysis showed that more than 100 fossil fuel companies are represented at the climate talks, where countries are under pressure to cut emissions that mostly come from oil, gas and coal to curb dangerous warming, as well as 30 trade bodies and member organisations.
27 official country delegations registered fossil fuel lobbyists, including Canada, Russia and Brazil, the campaigners said.
Murray Worthy, gas campaign leader at Global Witness, said: “With the world quickly running out of time to avert climate disaster, this Cop absolutely must be a success.
“The case for meaningful global action must not be diverted by a festival of polluters and their mouthpieces, who have no interest in seeing the changes we need to protect people and the planet.
“The presence of hundreds of those being paid to push the toxic interests of polluting fossil fuel companies will only increase the scepticism of climate activists who see these talks as more evidence of global leaders’ dithering and delaying.”
Updated
The negotiator for Guinea is giving an update from the G77+ China group in the plenary. His assessment is much less positive. He expresses his disappointment that wealthy countries have been unwilling to discuss progress on the $100bn [about £74bn] climate finance goal, describing it as “an empty commitment”.
Carbon Brief’s deputy editor and policy whizz Simon Evans is posting a thread of technical updates from the G77+ China group.
Guinea
— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 8, 2021
transparency: wish to see an outcome where requirements are matched with adequate support; also wants linkage with Article 6
Guinea
— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 8, 2021
stocktake: appreciate willingness and flex shown by all parties; looking fwd to stocktake so we have better understanding on how we got here, where we are and where we want to go to meet goals of Convention
Guinea
— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) November 8, 2021
Loss and damage: more work needs to be done on function of Santiago network; on finance, needs must be fairly reflected; concerned developed countries attempting to narrow scope
Updated
Alok Sharma and the heads of the UN subsidiary bodies have been addressing the plenary about the progress of negotiations at Cop26. The updates are largely technical and amount to a lengthy to-do list for ministers, who have arrived in Glasgow to try to thrash out details that technical teams have not been able to reconcile.
#COP26 Archie Young, UK's chief negotiator: We have a lot of work to do on issues that remain, and we will need to work at pace. Says the summit will work to facilitate late-night working
— Adam Vaughan (@adamvaughan_uk) November 8, 2021
Sharma at #COP26 says:
— Adam Vaughan (@adamvaughan_uk) November 8, 2021
- hopes first texts will be out this evening (on summit's final decision text, Paris rulebook stuff etc)
- wants "very few issues" left by Wednesday evening
- priority for Thursday is to iron those out
- with final docs on UN site on Friday
Updated
Today’s first big event at the People’s Summit is calling out nature based solutions (NBS) – a buzz phrase at Cop26 pushed as the silver bullet to solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis with little pain for people in the global north. NBS include the massive forestation commitments, which made headlines at Cop last week, and the expansion of hydroelectric power – both of which activists here say will have devastating impacts on biodiversity, food sovereignty and human rights.
Sophie Grig, from Survival International, said the 30 by 30 pledge – 30% of the planet’s land and oceans to be given protected status by 2030 – will lead to a huge increase in abuses against people in the global south who’ve contributed least to the climate crisis, but have been impacted the most. Grig said: “30 by 30 is the biggest land grab in history and will lead to more forced evictions, rapes and murder of indigenous and vulnerable people who rely on forests and grasslands to survive.”
The panelists from India, Kenya, Germany, Chile and the Klamath & Modoc tribal nation described the 30 x 30 pledge as a false solution, originally proposed by large conservation NGOs and now supported by rich and polluting countries and corporations keen to offset carbon emissions rather than cut them.
Paul Robert Wolf Wilson, a youth activist from the Klamath tribes confederation based in Southern Oregon and Northern California, spoke about the Klamath dam, which has had a devastating impact on salmon runs relied upon by the tribes for thousands of years, and is scheduled for removal in 2023.
“It’s taken more than a hundred years of struggle by my people to remove the Klamath dam and recuperate a river that has sustained my people since time memorial,” he said. “False solutions allow polluters to keep polluting. False solutions are killing us. Carbon market trading programmes are arms of genocide.”
The People’s Summit continues with about 200 virtual and in-person events across the city taking place through until Wednesday.
Updated
It’s time for news of an elaborate Monday morning practical joke. The Yes Men, a group of activist pranksters, claimed to have had a fake company accepted as an official member of UN net zero initiatives at Cop26. It later transpired the company, Yasava, is real.
Alongside Maersk, Halliburton, Delta, United, American, Heathrow, Edelman, BAE Systems and many others, the Yes Men claimed they had managed to get Yasava, “the world’s leading designer of bespoke couture interiors for private jets”, accepted to two official Cop26 initiatives: the Race to Zero campaign and the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTI). The company is listed as part of the Race to Zero campaign but is not part of the SBTI.
Check out Yasava’s website here. It appears to have been made on WordPress and includes phrases like “an aircraft does not simply accommodate you: you wear it”. Campaigners say it raises serious concerns about corporate greenwashing at Cop26
Alan Bell, of Glasgow Calls Out Polluters, said: “This should be a moment of profound embarrassment for Cop26 and the corporate hype around net zero. If the most ridiculous company imaginable can meet the flagship net-zero standard, then we should not take the concept of net zero seriously at all.”
- This entry was updated on 10 November 2021 after it became clear that Yasava is a real company. They are listed as part of the Race to Zero campaign, but are not part of the SBTI. Chevron and JP Morgan, who were originally listed in this post, are also not part of the SBTI.
Updated
October 2021 the third warmest on record – Copernicus satellite
The EU’s Earth observation programme Copernicus has found that October 2021 was the third warmest in recorded history, with temperatures 0.42C higher than the 1991 to 2020 average.
Last month was only marginally cooler than October 2015 and 2019. Northern Canada, northern Russia and eastern Antarctica all experienced much warmer months than average, while southern Africa, southern Australia and western Antarctica experienced cooler conditions.
📢October #temperature highlights from the #CopernicusClimate Change Service #C3S:
— Copernicus ECMWF (@CopernicusECMWF) November 8, 2021
🌡️ Globally, it was the third warmest October
🌡️ European temperatures were most above average in the north and most below average in the southeast
More detail➡️ https://t.co/thg3lGJJuV pic.twitter.com/g8PNYczm1g
Updated
The legitimacy of the Cop26 climate summit has been called into question by civil society participants who say restrictions on access to negotiations are unprecedented and unjust, Nina Lakhani reports.
As the Glasgow summit enters its second week, observers representing hundreds of environmental, academic, climate justice, indigenous and women’s rights organisations say excluding them from negotiating areas and speaking to negotiators could have dire consequences for millions of people.
Observers act as informal watchdogs of the summit – the eyes and ears of the public during negotiations to ensure proceedings are transparent and reflect the concerns of communities and groups most likely to be affected by decisions.
But their ability to observe, interact and intervene in negotiations on carbon markets, loss and damage and climate financing has been obstructed during the first week, the Guardian has been told.
Read the full report here.
Updated
On Sunday, a counter climate summit organised by a coalition of civil society groups kicked off in Glasgow offering a grassroots alternative to what’s happening inside the Cop26 negotiating rooms.
The People’s Summit for Climate Justice has brought together movements and communities from across the world to amplify voices, ideas and solutions organisers say are largely absent from talks in Glasgow – including the global green new deal, polluters’ liability, indigenous ecological knowledge and the gulf between net zero and real zero emissions.
It’s organised by the Cop26 Coalition, the same folks behind Saturday’s global day of action for climate justice which saw around 200 protests worldwide, including more than 100,000 people take to the streets of Glasgow.
The summit opened on Sunday with a People’s Tribunal in which the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was found guilty of failing to effectively and equitably deal with the climate crisis and declared that the body has breached the UN charter. Activists and experts from across the world including former Cop negotiators, gave testimony over four hours against the tribunal organised by Global Justice Now.
‘These are not fringe ideas, this is the only way to tackle the climate crisis’: panel on the Green New Deal at the People’s Summit in Glasgow with speakers from Uganda, Brazil, France and the UK. pic.twitter.com/4IfUEcYLLp
— Nina Lakhani (@ninalakhani) November 7, 2021
Presenting the verdict, Vijay Prashad, executive director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, said: “We, the jury, find that the UNFCCC has violated the UN Charter … It has forged an intimate partnership with the very corporations that have created the climate crisis. It has refused to listen to those on the frontlines of the crisis, the one billion youth from the 33 high-risk countries, to listen to those indigenous communities and formerly colonised countries who bear the brunt of a crisis that they did not produce.”
Prashad added: “The developed countries pledged to provide $100 billion per year for the climate fund. They have not provided that money, neglecting their own commitments.”
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If you wanted to catch up on what happened in the first week of Cop26, our global environment editor, Jonathan Watts, has written a comprehensive account of everything you need to know.
What’s next? Fiona Harvey has it covered.
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Week two of Cop26 begins
Good morning! I hope you are feeling well-rested and ready for week two of Cop26.
It is adaption, loss and damage day in Glasgow and, as you might have noticed, there is no headline-grabbing commitment on the front pages this morning orchestrated by the UK presidency. The failure of rich countries to meet the $100bn finance target looms large over a day dedicated to highlighting the damage caused by a growing number of wildfires, droughts and other of climate-related disasters.
We will be covering the latest news and analysis from Glasgow throughout the day, including from former US president Barack Obama, who will speak in the blue zone this afternoon.
Tweet any questions you have to @pgreenfielduk.
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