Highlights and images for 9 November 2021

The Glasgow Climate Change conference continued along its technical and political tracks. Some meetings were in smaller, closed rooms, while others included observers. Consensus emerged more readily in some rooms than others, with today serving as COP 26 President Sharma’s anticipated deadline for technical work.

Highlights of the day included:

• Negotiations on finance, technology, and adaptation;
• Events showcasing the role of science and innovation in climate action;
• The EU’s announcement of a EUR 100 million contribution to the Adaptation Fund; and
• The resumed high-level segment.

For a deep dive on individual negotiation items, read the full ENB daily report.

Negotiations

Finance discussions again comprised much of the day. The time devoted to these issues is the result of both the volume of work, and the deep divides between developed and developing countries’ positions. There was a willingness to engage on some issues related to setting the new collective quantified climate finance goal. The purpose of these discussions is to establish a process to set the goal - not the goal itself. There was more engagement on how to take this forward, perhaps through an ad hoc working group, or a committee, or a series of workshops to help countries explore the issue.

Adaptation discussions focused on the global goal on adaptation. Enshrined in the Paris Agreement, the global goal on adaptation is a priority for developing countries, which are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Unlike temperature goals, adaptation is more context-specific, localized, and, in some ways, qualitative. Talks aim to set up a process that can clarify how to operationalize this goal and bring more parity between adaptation and mitigation in the UN climate process.

Science and Innovation Day

Throughout the pandemic, science has been central. Climate science, too, is a fundamental part of global efforts to understand and address climate change. Real solutions need a full understanding of the problems, and their complex interactions. The Science and Innovation Day at the COP tried to showcase the many ways that all types of science contribute to addressing the climate crisis.

An event responding to the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the physical science showcased how science can help heal the planet, not just diagnose its problems. Indigenous knowledge was central to the conversation, as Pasang Dolma Sherpa drew attention to the fact that Indigenous Peoples protect 80% of biodiversity, although they represent only 6% of the global population. She said Indigenous knowledge systems must be considered on an equal footing with other forms of scientific knowledge. COP 26 President Sharma closed the panel, saying, “The future isn’t yet written; we can still work to keep 1.5°C alive. We must now translate the efforts of academics into an ambitious outcome and a decade of action, letting science lead the way.”  

Science and Innovation Day also saw the launch of the Adaptation Research Alliance, bringing together 90 organizations from 30 countries to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities at the forefront of climate change. 

Other events included:

• Presidency events on Climate Action for Health and on Advancing Gender Equality;
• Global Climate Action events on IPCC scientific assessments in a pandemic world and on credible non-party stakeholders' voluntary action on climate; and
• UN Global Climate Action Awards.