The world’s most respected climate analysis coalition, the Climate Action Tracker (Cat), announced that temperature rises will top a disastrous 2.4C by the end of this century, based on the short-term goals countries have set out at Cop26.
The UK Met Office said that a billion people would be affected by extreme heat stress if the climate crisis raises the global temperature by just 2C. That includes heating to the point that the human body cannot cool itself by sweating and even healthy people sitting in the shade will die within six hours.
All four UK health secretaries pledged to build climate-resilient health services, alongside 46 other countries making similar commitments. Health services are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for around 4.6% of the worldwide total.
Canadian and British scientist advisors said substantial changes in behaviour are needed to tackle the climate emergency. Canada’s chief scientific adviser, Mona Nemer, said there would need to be a “profound behavioural and cultural change in terms of our relation to the Earth”.
Cop26 delegates expressed unease about the lack of progress made in discussions, with only four days to go before the official end of the conference. “Everything is still to play for but there’s a long way to go,” said Tracy Carty, climate change policy and advocacy lead at Oxfam.
Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, hailed Joe Biden’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis, but said the US has “to deliver to get credit on climate change”.
Extinction Rebellion Scotland activists have set up a 24-hour vigil outside JP Morgan Chase – the bank that invests more money in fossil fuels than any other in the world.
See what happened on Day 8 here.
