What is COP26? 

COP26, also known as the Conference of the Parties, is taking place in Glasgow from the 31st of October to the 12th of November. The event was postponed by a year in light of the global Covid 19 pandemic. 

The parties are the 197 signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) created in 1994. The purpose of COP26 is to bring together governments and representatives from across the world to discuss how to tackle the issue of climate change. The Paris Agreement, signed by 196 of the parties in 2015, sets a goal of limiting global warming to 2° compared to pre-industrial levels. COP26 gives the parties the opportunity to assess their collective progress towards this goal.  

What will be happening? 

The conference will take place over the course of 12 days with events being held in Glasgow and in the partner country, Italy.  

Glasgow has been chosen as the host city due to its sustainability goals such as carbon neutrality by 2030. Glasgow also has a proven track record of hosting international events such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2018 European Gymnastics Championships. 

There will be two defined areas for the conference, the Blue Zone and the Green Zone. The Blue Zone covers the area around the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) on the banks of the Clyde. This is where delegates from across the world will meet to take part in negotiations, round tables and debates to develop plans for the future of climate action. This area will be very secure with no access allowed to the general public. 

The Green Zone is where the public can get involved. This area covers locations such as Glasgow Science Centre at Pacific Quay and the City Chambers in George Square. As well as family friendly activities such as Planetarium shows and choir performances, there will be more topic focussed events such as ‘How to Green your finance’ and ‘So you want a green job’. For a full schedule of Green Zone events, click here. 

How to get involved 

There are lots of ways to get involved if you can’t make it to any of the in-person events.  

The Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) have curated a programme of events called Path to COP26. Their aim is to bring together stakeholders from across the world of finance to raise awareness and bring attention to climate change. Path to COP26 aims to bring about actionable change before, during and after the conference. To learn more click here.

COP26 have created a YouTube channel that will be the online home of the Green Zone. They will be uploading videos from over 200 events so you can catch up from home. Click here to visit the channel. 

Climate Fringe have put together a list of ways in which you can get involved such as using their Green Map and watching livestreams. Their Green Map shows where visitors to the conference can find sustainable places to eat, shop and visit while in Glasgow. The map is fully interactive and you can add your own business or recommendations to it. Click here. They will also be streaming various live events from COP26 and are encouraging communities to get together to watch and then discuss them. Click here.

COP26 also serves as a reminder to consider our own behaviour regarding the environment and gives us a chance to stop and think about what we can do. From simple things like recycling more to larger decisions such as financial investments, we, as consumers, have the power to initiate change. 

What are Ethical Futures doing? 

Keep an eye out on our social media pages (Twitter and Facebook) for our ’12 days of COP’ where we will be sharing various events and activities that we recommend over the course of the conference. 

Our Marketing and Client Communications Administrator, Marian, will be volunteering at the conference. She will be working with the transport team to facilitate the operation of the shuttle bus service that will operate in and around the city centre. 

Julian will be attending the Further, Faster Conference hosted by Federated Hermes on 4th November, discussing issues related to climate change, nature and social injustice. 

As a firm, in conjunction with our review as to how we do business, we are also looking at our carbon footprint and what changes we can make. 

Do you plan on getting involved? What do you hope the outcome of the conference will be?