US climate envoy sets Cop26 goals

US climate envoy John Kerry has said “enormous progress” can be made at upcoming UN climate talks in Scotland but more governments must come up with concrete commitments within the next 30 days.

He attended a preparatory meeting in Milan where delegates from around the world sought to identify where progress could be made before the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties starts in Glasgow on October 31.

The 12-day Cop26 summit aims to secure more ambitious commitments to limit global warming to well below 2°C with a goal of keeping it to 1.5°C compared with pre-industrial levels.

The event is also focused on mobilising financing and protecting vulnerable communities and natural

habitats. “The bottom line is, folks, as we stand here today, we believe we can make enormous progress in Glasgow, moving rapidly towards the new goals that the science is telling us we must achieve,” said the former US presidential candidate.

That means meeting a 45% reduction in carbon emissions in the next 10 years. “This is the decisive decade,” added Kerry.

The former US senator and secretary of state said that countries representing 55% of the world’s gross domestic product – Britain, Canada, Japan, the US and the 27 European Union members – have submitted plans that hit the 1.5°C target by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.