COP26: Where We Need to Go From Here
The consensus is that fossil fuel reduction will get us halfway to stopping the bus — the other half needs to come from a radical shift in (western) human consumption and behavior. Our culture is built upon a “take, make, waste” model (as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation called it) and we must completely rewire our way of life if we are to make it. There are shifts to be made — from “more” to “enough,” from “extractive” to “regenerative,” from “mine” to “ours,” and from “separate” to “together.” It is a reset of how we have been living and defining “quality” for almost an entire generation now, and we need to urgently reset this narrative. We need to tell ourselves the story that a green world is a better world to live in — the most powerful story I heard at the conference came from a monk who had had a vision that in 2052, humanity had found a way to live a more beautiful life, in harmony with itself and the world around it. Except we don’t have until 2052. We all need to play our part in discovering and telling that story, to ourselves, to anyone who will listen, and to our children, so that they do not get flattened by the bus. And we need to talk fast.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.