Glasgow pledges: It’s time to walk the talk
The Glasgow Climate Pact was a historic collective achievement, but it is a fragile win. All countries must join the race to zero emissions, and build international collaboration in critical sectors
November 2021 was a pivotal moment for the planet, as the countries of the world gathered in Glasgow, United Kingdom (UK), for the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, COP26. We were pleased to host Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, and welcomed his announcement on India’s ambitious 2030 targets and commitment to net-zero emissions.
After two years of marathon work and a two-week sprint of negotiations, we achieved our aim by agreeing to the Glasgow Climate Pact. By any measure, this is a historic agreement, and one of which all 197 parties can be proud. We can credibly say that we kept in reach our goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels — although much more needs to be done.
COP26 was the biggest political gathering of any kind held in the UK.
Glasgow hosted representatives from 194 countries, 120 world leaders, with 38,000 accredited delegates in attendance. We saw participation and crucial interventions from over 550 people of Indian society, pledging action by signing up to the UN’s “global race to zero” campaign. This included businesses such as Tata Sons and ACC Cement, states such as Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, and some 66 cities.
From the outside, the negotiations may have appeared technocratic. But so much was at stake. They were about protecting the lives and livelihoods of those on the frontline of the climate crisis — including in India.
Science tells us the world is already, on average, 1.1 degree Celsius warmer than the levels in preindustrial times. We have seen the acute effects of this on millions of people in India and across the world through the extreme weather events and the climate stresses witnessed in the past year.
At the COP26 World Leader’s Summit, we welcomed PM Modi’s new pledge for India to get 50% of its power from renewables and reduce a billion tonnes of emissions by 2030; and his commitment that India will fully decarbonise its economy and achieve net-zero by 2070. The UK is committed to working with India to drive forward action to put these promises into practice, including through an “India Green Guarantee” to the World Bank to unlock an additional $1 billion for green projects across India.
Talk must be backed up by action, and on this, the UK and India are working shoulder to shoulder — jointly launching strong partnership initiatives at COP26. The Green Grids Initiative, One Sun One World One Grid, will accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy through interconnected electricity grids across continents, countries, and communities. And a new Infrastructure for Resilient Island States facility under the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure will help some of the most vulnerable countries in the world build vital infrastructure designed to cope with climate risks.
We also saw new emerging stars from the next generation, with 15-year-old Vinisha Umashankar’s solar ironing cart and Vidyut Mohan’s technology to reduce farm waste celebrated on the COP26 stage as finalists for the Duke of Cambridge’s prestigious Earthshot prize. These shining examples of real action embody India’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, and set the tone for what we must all do to make change happen.
With the commitments made in Glasgow, net-zero targets now cover 90% of the world’s economy, up from 30% at the start of the UK’s
COP26 presidency and countries home to more than 90% of the world’s forests pledged to halt and reverse forest loss. These valuable agreements, alongside the Glasgow Climate Pact, begin to fill in the details of how we will respond to the immense global challenge of the climate crisis.
COP26 kept the 1.5-degree goal alive. But its pulse remains weak. That is why the UK’s work as the COP26 presidency is really only just beginning. Over the course of this year, we will work with countries, urging them to take action on finance, adaptation, and mitigation.
As part of the Glasgow Climate Pact, countries are requested by the end of 2022 to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their nationally determined contributions as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement
temperature goal, taking into account different national circumstances. And it is crucial that countries do this.
We also need businesses and civil society to go even further in getting behind our COP26 goals, joining the race to zero, and building up international collaboration in critical sectors, including through Mission Innovation.
As Umashankar said on the COP26 stage: We need to innovate, invest in the future and start now “to take actions that will make us healthier and wealthier”. Glasgow was a historic collective achievement, but it is a fragile win. We must grasp this moment to deliver what we agreed.