5 key takeaways from the Glasgow climate summit

In two weeks, on 30 October, the 26^th Conference Of Parties on climate change kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland, running until 12 November. During the 21^st edition in 2015, 174 countries signed the Paris Climate Agreement. Since the Paris Climate Agreement must prevent global warming to a degree that does not endanger human life, it is essential that this edition also maintains the urgency and diplomatic weight of the climate accord.

Five key characteristics of the upcoming climate summit:

The climate summit follows the IPCC report

In August, the IPCC attempted to increase the urgency and emphasis of climate plans among nations with its report. Given the exceptionally alarming tone of the report, which labelled human influence as ‘unequivocal’, it certainly cannot have escaped the attention of world leaders.

Many weather extremes worldwide over the past year

Floods in Limburg, Belgium and Germany, wildfires in Canada, California, Greece and Siberia, and the horror winter in Texas, to name just a few outliers. The past year saw exceptional weather extremes as direct or indirect consequences of climate change. This increasingly brings the consequences of weak climate policy to the surface.

Current climate targets too weak

The current climate targets set by countries in 2015 are considered too weak. Not only are countries not on track, but achieving the climate plans set for 2030 would not entirely prevent 1.5 degrees of warming. The plans need to be revised and adaptation efforts must be collectively stepped up.

The US and China

Europe leads in the ambition level of climate targets. However, Europe is only responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions. It is crucial to also bring the US and China on board with more ambitious climate targets, as they are responsible for 15 and 30 percent of global emissions respectively.

Global business continuity at risk without decisive action

If this climate summit fails to reach consensus, many countries will continue to go their own way and allow CO2 emissions to rise sharply for the time being. More intense weather extremes can lead to damage to business assets and affect the wellbeing of personnel in export countries. Global supply chains may be endangered as a result, causing financial damage in Western countries. Political and societal differences in climate views can lead to unrest and instability.