Words and deeds in Glasgow: COP26 as a milestone in global climate policy?

In the next Policy Paper, Katarína Svitková writes about the conference which will take place in November 2021, Scotland’s largest exhibition center in Glasgow is to host an international climate summit of great importance titled the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. The 26th Conference of the Parties continues a series of high-level international climate summits, the first of which was held in 1995 in Berlin, Germany

The role of cities and municipalities in climate change adaptation has been growing, in some instances overshadowing the efforts of respective national governments. Cities have acted as change-makers, often committing to impose stricter carbon reduction policies than those prescribed by national legislation. This is especially true of the most climate progressive mayors in the United States, Canada, Britain or France, to name a few. Under the C40 Citiesinitiative, however, a much wider spectrum of 97 cities representing over 700 million residents have committed to follow and implement the Paris Agreement, addressing climate change in urban areas on a daily basis. 

You can read the whole policy paper under the PDF button. 

Katarína Svitková
Associate Research Fellow

Expertise: Climate policy, sustainability, city resilience and urban governance, security policy, international higher education