COP26 and the climate crisis

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The UN Climate Change 'Conference of the Parties' (called COP) has occurred every year since 1995.  These annual two-week summits bring together world governments from 197 nations and territories that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

The 26th event (known as COP26) took place from 1st to 12th November 2021. It was held in the UK for the first time, with Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, as host.

Who attended?

COP26 was a pivotal moment where people and societies, businesses, and governments commit to reducing carbon emissions, prepare for the impact of climate change, and try to prevent further irreversible damage to the planet.

The two-week conference involved representatives from more than 190 countries, including presidents, prime ministers and around 30,000 delegates reporting back on progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement. In addition, members of the press and observer organisations also attended to discuss the climate crisis on a global level.

Due to the importance of COP26, many high profile guests went to the summit. Greta Thunberg was one of the names among the attendees alongside David Attenborough, President Joe Biden and more.

COP26 was a critical summit for worldwide climate action. To have a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, global emissions must halve by 2030 and reach 'net-zero' by 2050.

There are several reasons why the summit was so important.

COP26 was viewed as the successor to the COP21 event in 2015, where the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change was signed. Therefore, the summit addressed what has been achieved since 2015 while setting concrete plans to reach the Paris Agreement targets.

Strengthening the ability to adapt to climate change impacts was another crucial element of COP26, including dealing with unavoidable economic and non-economic harms known as 'loss and damage'.

A successful outcome for COP26 requires developed countries to honour a promise they made back in 2009 of mobilising $100 billion  per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries. 

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The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing climate change. The IPCC reports equip world leaders with the most authoritative and up to date summary on the Earth's climate. The COP summits use these reports as a baseline on the state of knowledge on climate change when making science and policy decisions.  

As our world is reaching a tipping point in the climate crisis, the IPCC published their Synthesis Report of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), in March 2023.

Crucially, this report was used to inform the discussions of world leaders at COP26.

We've provided more information on the role of the IPCC on our website:

What is the IPCC?  And why should we trust it?

Many of the findings in earlier reports have been strengthened and sharpened in this report. Importantly, the need for a limited carbon budget and transition to net-zero emissions has been confirmed, and the uncertainty around the climate sensitivity narrowed.

It shows with ever more clarity that the more we limit global warming by rapidly transitioning to net-zero emissions, the more we avoid moving into a dangerous world. 

Professor Gabi Hegerl

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For the first time, the IPCC states unequivocally that humans are responsible for the observed warming of our planets atmosphere, land and oceans. Human activity is changing the Earth's climate in ways 'unprecedented' in thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of years.

In addition, some of these changes are now inevitable and 'irreversible for centuries to millennia'.

Within the next two decades, temperatures are likely to rise by more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, which was the 2015 Paris Agreement target.  

This means we are at a turning point in history. The IPCC reveals it is still possible to achieve the 1.5-degree-target, but only if we take unprecedented action now. These stark findings must force new policy measures as a matter of urgency to shift the global economy to a low-carbon footing.

Therefore, the UK's overarching aim for the COP26 summit is to 'keep 1.5°C alive'.

Our impact

We are among the world-leading climate scientists who contributed to the IPCC reports, providing research-led reactions and solutions to the climate crisis.

For example, Professor Gabi Hegerl's seminal work has pioneered the method to detect the 'human fingerprint' on anthropogenic climate change, through combining observations and climate model simulations. Her method has become one of the central pillars of climate science. 

Find out more:

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The Paris Agreement is the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate change agreement.  It was signed by almost all countries in the world at COP21 in Paris in 2015.   

Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. It also aims to strengthen countries' ability to deal with climate change impacts and support them in their efforts.  

Through the Paris Agreement, countries decide how much they will reduce their emissions by a particular year. They communicate these targets to the UNFCCC in the form of 'nationally determined contributions' or 'NDCs'.  

The signatories of the Paris Agreement are expected to submit new and more ambitious NDCs every five years.  

Therefore, COP26 was the first test of the success of this agreement.

Find out how our work underpinned the Paris Agreement

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COP26

Our University was part of the COP26 Universities Network, a growing group of over 80 UK-based universities and research centres working together to raise ambition for tangible outcomes from the UN COP26 Climate Change Conference.

In addition, we have been contributing to annual COPs in four main ways:

1. by presenting research
2. through advocacy
3. by observing negotiations
4. by analysing the discussions for various audiences.

You can learn about our involvement in COP26 on our University website, or on social media using the hashtag #EdinUniCOP26.

Find out more - the University at COP26

Social Responsibility and Sustainability

The first of its kind in the UK, our University Department of Social Responsibility and Sustainability was created to help the University, our staff, and students deliver on its vision to make the world a better place by offering the most successful social responsibility and sustainability service in higher education. 

We have also committed to becoming zero carbon by 2040. Our University's Climate Strategy lays out a comprehensive whole institution approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation to achieve our ambitious targets.

Visit the University Social Responsibility and Sustainability website for more