World leaders meet for 'last best chance' COP26 climate talks in Glasgow

By Eliza Mackintosh, Angela Dewan, Aditi Sangal, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 5:24 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021
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1:55 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

India Prime Minister pledges net-zero emissions by 2070

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Alastair Grant/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Alastair Grant/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a five-point climate agenda during his address at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Most notably, he pledged India will achieve net zero emissions by 2070.

With this, all of the world's top 10 coal-power countries have now committed to net-zero, according to climate think tank Ember.

However, India's goal of 2070 target is decades later than other polluter economies, and even later than China, which has targeted 2060.

"I’m happy to report that a developing country like India, which is working to lift millions out of poverty and working on their ease of living, accounts for 17% of the world’s population but only 5% of the world’s carbon emissions," Modi said Monday. "But it has not left any stone unturned in fulfilling its promise, and the whole world agrees that India is the only big economy that has delivered on the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit."

He also touted the Indian railway network for setting a goal to be net-zero by 2030, reducing emissions by 40 million tonnes by 2030.

Here are the promises Modi made in his five-point climate agenda:

  • India's non-fossil energy capacity to reach 500 GW by 2030.
  • Renewable energy will fulfill 50% of India's energy requirements by 2030.
  • Its total projected carbon emissions will reduce by one billion tonnes by 2030.
  • India will also reduce the carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45% by 2030.
  • India will achieve the target of net zero emissions by 2070.

Modi also called on developed nations to contribute $1 trillion in climate financing to help developing countries transition to green energy and adapt to the climate crisis. He said he believes those contributions should be tracked.

"Climate finance ambitions cannot remain at the same levels as they were during the Paris Climate Agreement. Now that India has made a new commitment, the need for climate finance and low-cost technology transfer has become even more important," he said.

1:28 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

4 young activists sailed into COP26

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Four young activists from around the world are arriving at COP26 on Monday aboard Greenpeace’s "Rainbow Warrior."

It was a tight squeeze under the Erskine Bridge, which spans the River Clyde northwest of Glasgow.

The activists arriving via the boat are:

  • Jakapita Faith Kandanga, 24, from Namibia
  • Edwin Namakanga, 27, from Uganda
  • Maria Reyes, 19, from Mexico
  • Farzana Faruk Jhumu, 22, from Bangladesh

The ship was originally warned it would not be allowed to sail down the Clyde toward the restricted zone around the conference, Greenpeace said, but was granted passage Monday morning.

"World leaders attending the talks could learn a lot from this cooperation," the four activists said in a joint statement. "We have been ignored long enough, and now with a safe passage to Glasgow our voices must be heard at COP26."

1:12 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

Canadian prime minister commits to cap on emissions from its oil and gas industry

From CNN’s Duarte Mendonça

Phil Noble/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Phil Noble/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged world leaders to do “more and faster” and formally committed to a cap on emissions produced by Canada's large oil and gas sector.

“We'll cap oil and gas sector emissions today and ensure they decrease tomorrow at a pace and scale needed to reach net zero by 2050,” Trudeau said in his opening remarks at the COP 26 summit.  

“That's no small task for a major oil and gas producing country. It's a big step that’s absolutely necessary.”  The Canadian Prime Minister explained that this will be achieved by Canada’s doubling of its climate financing, “including up to a billion dollars for the transition away from coal and to help deal with the consequences of climate change.”

Trudeau appealed to the urgency of the commitment to the Paris agreement, saying that the conference in Glasgow must deliver on those promises. “The threat of climate change knows no borders and that is why you must work together to achieve tangible results,” he said. He urged for the same global cooperation as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We must act with the same urgency against the climate crisis and biodiversity loss,” Trudeau said.

“To the world's most vulnerable who need us to act, to indigenous people who can show us the way, to young people marching in our streets in cities around the world: We hear you. It's true. Your leaders need to do better.”

 

12:54 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

Indian prime minister: Focusing on mitigation over adaptation is an "injustice" against developing countries

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi attends the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference Monday.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi attends the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference Monday. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the global focus on mitigation strategies over adaptation strategies to tackle climate change, calling it an "injustice towards the developing countries that are heavily affected."

"For the farmers of many developing countries, including India, climate is a big challenge. There is a change in cropping pattern. Untimely rains, floods and consistently incoming storms are destroying crops. From sources of drinking water to affordable housing, all need to be made resilient against climate change,” he said Monday.

He proposed three solutions that, he said, would be more effective in the context of India and other countries in the same position.

First, make adaptation a primary part of development policies and schemes.

"In India, our various projects like Tap Water for All, Clean India Mission and Clean Cooking Fuel For All have not only provided adaptation benefits to our citizens in need, but also improved their quality of life."

Second, many traditional communities know how to live in tandem with nature, he said.

"These traditional practices should find appropriate importance in our adaptation policies. School syllabi should include educating students about these practices so the currents of this traditional knowledge also reaches the new generation," Modi added.

Finally, he called for global support in helping developing countries build and implement local adaptation strategies, and invited all countries to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

12:51 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

Pacific Islands are on frontlines of the crisis, but many leaders couldn't attend COP26

From CNN's Rachel Ramirez

Despite the outsized impact the climate crisis has on Pacific Island nations— in the form of sea level rise, worsening drought and extreme temperatures — just four out of more than a dozen leaders are scheduled to represent their countries at COP26: Fiji, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Palau.

Pandemic restrictions, vaccine inequity and economic barriers hindered many of these nations from sending official delegations to Glasgow.

Yet climate change has been threatening the very existence of Pacific Islands, causing drought, coastal erosion, dwindling fish stocks, intensifying storms and sea level rise. 

In an opening speech at COP26, Samoan climate activist Brianna Fruean said world leaders have the power to make a difference.

“You all have the power here today to be better — to remember that in your meeting rooms and drafting documents are more than just black and white objects,” Fruean said. “To remember that in your words you wield the weapons that can save us or sell us out.”

According to a United Nations report, at least 57% of the infrastructure in the Pacific Islands will be threatened by rising sea levels during this century.

As countries like China, the US and Australia pump more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, the 10 million or so people who call the islands of the Pacific home continue to pay the greatest cost for other countries’ failure to cut fossil fuel use.

"If you're looking for inspiration, look no further than the climate leadership of the young Pacific people,” Fruean said.

12:51 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

The climate crisis is a "code red" for large emitters, Barbados prime minister says

From CNN’s Zoe Cantley and Emmet Lyons

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley speaks during the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference on Monday.
Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley speaks during the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference on Monday. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has warned that the climate crisis facing her country is deeply perilous and has said that the crisis is a “code red to China, to the US, to Europe, to India.”

Barbados is an island that is already deeply threatened by rising sea levels and Mottley told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that large emitters, such as the United States and China, are not yet taking the urgent climate action needed to mitigate that threat.

“Those who need to make the decisions are kicking the can down the road, and they believe that they can, because they are not seeing us — they see themselves,” she said. “For them, they don’t reach that period of peril for another 15 to 20 years… there are a lot of us who are going to be affected before Shanghai and Miami.” 

Speaking from the COP 26 summit in Glasgow, Mottley said that her country is at the frontline of the climate crisis. “We have a serious problem with water. We have effectively drought like conditions for the better part of the last few years where almost half the island is at risk of not getting adequate water,” she said. “We have an impact with respect to our coral reefs. A lot of the marine island we saw as children is no longer there.” 

“This year Barbados had its first hurricane in 66 years and before that, we had a.. storm that lasted 90 minutes and that had 46,000 lightning strikes in 90 minutes.”

“They’re waiting for it to hit them. We are hoping that a conscience will be pricked and that nobody is safe until everybody is safe…those who don’t listen will ultimately pay the price.”

"We’re in this together and… if you haven’t learned from the pandemic that all of us are suffering then you will not learn from anything. We need to move together,” she added.

12:14 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

There's a gong sound to warn leaders who are speaking over their allotted time

From CNN's Aditi Sangal and Ivana Kottasova

Adhering to time limits and word counts is hard, even for world leaders.

Under the COP26 rules, each head of state has three minutes to deliver their national address. However, many leaders went over this allotted time, including US President Joe Biden.

Each time a leader goes over, a gong sound is played as a warning. Some leaders received this gong warning more than once.

While COP26 asks leaders to deliver their remarks in short, it allows leaders to provide the full text of their statements to be "uploaded and made available on the UNFCCC website."

12:25 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

Biden apologizes to world leaders for Trump's climate actions

From CNN's Allie Malloy

President Joe Biden speaks at the COP26 summit Monday.
President Joe Biden speaks at the COP26 summit Monday. (Andy Buchanan/Pool/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden apologized to world leaders at the COP26 summit Monday for actions taken by the Trump administration in pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord.

“I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States — the last administration — pulled out of the Paris Accords and put us sort of behind the 8 ball,” Biden said at an event on action and solidarity in Glasgow.

“Our meeting here in Glasgow isn’t the end of the journey… we all know this,” Biden said at the event, adding it’s “really just a starting line.”

“We have the tools I think we have the know bow and we have the resources. I think we have to make some choices,” Biden added.

Biden is under pressure to demonstrate American commitment to climate change. World leaders have wondered how durable his promises can be when political changes can cause the country to drastically change course. 

12:22 p.m. ET, November 1, 2021

Where the work gets done at COP (Hint: it's not at the leaders' summit)

From CNN's Ivana Kottasova

Delegates attend the UN Climate Change Conference on Monday.
Delegates attend the UN Climate Change Conference on Monday. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

While the cameras are pointing at the world leaders delivering lofty statements from the stage, the nitty-gritty negotiations are going on away from the limelight.

The real work on climate agreements is done by the national delegations, which are usually composed of experts from each country’s government, non-governmental organizations and the civil society.

These are the people who sit through the long meetings debating each word of any agreement that’s to be struck. Some of them have been preparing for the Glasgow summit since the last COP in 2019. They’ve been laying the groundwork and making sure that as many countries as possible are on board long before the leaders descended on Glasgow.

Away from the main stage, through a long maze of corridors, are a number of meeting rooms where different groupings of states get together to agree a common position before bringing their opinion to the plenary. These include the EU, the Alliance of Small Island States, the G7 and others.

The pandemic has made the negotiations tricky, because the need for social distancing means the negotiation rooms have a much smaller capacity than they would normally.