Release of the draft text Thursday 17 November saw the UN climate agency publish the draft text of the COP27 overarching agreement, the focus of the last week of negotiations and the document that will symbolise COP27 for years to come. The text appeared to still be in a very preliminary stage and many voiced … Read more

As the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26 or the Conference) draws near, the spotlight on international efforts to tackle climate change intensifies. COP26 is an important Conference for many reasons, one of which is that it will be the first Conference at which new and/or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) will be discussed. WHAT ARE … Read more

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There is increasing interest in the role Nature-based Solutions’ (“NbS”) are to play in adaptation and mitigation of climate change at COP26. Its role, especially in the context of Article 6 relating to carbon markets, will be of critical concern to many countries and blocs especially Brazil and the African Group of Negotiators. … Read more

The COP26 Private Finance Hub was set up to help bridge the gap between the Paris Agreement targets and the very significant changes across world economies that are required to meet those targets. It is led by Mark Carney, and its objective for COP26 is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change … Read more

Expecting rich nations to pay for ‘loss and damage’ of unavoidable climate change impact is fine in theory but torturous in practice. Much of the discourse underlying the debate on the most appropriate method to combat climate change has centred on the idea that those who have contributed to it most significantly ought to be … Read more

OVERVIEW The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in Paris, aims to limit global warming to below 2, preferably to 1.5, degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement included a number of methods and goals for achieving this target. In particular, Article 6 contains three carbon pricing mechanisms, two of which … Read more

As nearly 200 nations descend on Glasgow from 1 November for the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), the UN-backed forum for tackling climate change, the annual summit will be a defining moment in the battle to mobilise states and policymakers. The first COP to assess government climate plans submitted under the Paris Agreement, the … Read more

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission published its ‘fit for 55’ package providing a set of measures aimed at reaching the target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990 thresholds). Such legislative proposals represent a pragmatic response to the European Green Deal, presented on 11 December 2019, which … Read more