There is no shortage of articles grasping with the huge task of trying to condense the COP26 into a digestible piece of information.
Carbon Brief did a great job at summing up into two long articles what we have to understand about the pledges and the agreement gaveled down last Saturday:
COP26: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Glasgow
Analysis: Do COP26 promises keep global warming below 2C?
Here we would like to highlight some takeaways, from a business standpoint.
More than 100 national and state governments, as well as cities and businesses have committed to end the sale of Internal Combustion Engines by 2040 worldwide, and 2035 in leading markets (https://cop26transportdeclaration.org). It means obviously high-scale fleet replacement, and massive infrastructure adaptation, not only in the public space but also inside corporations’ own premises (typically chargers for EVs on the parking lot, with appropriate energy supply and storage), even for businesses unrelated to car and truck making. The phasing-out of fossil fuel vehicles also means positive side-effect on air quality and employees’ health.
100 world leaders, including Brazil, pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, though countries now have to walk their talk despite opposing private interests. At first look, the agriculture and food industry seems to be the one most impacted, but the complexity of world-wide supply chains is such that even seemingly completely unrelated industries will have to rethink the materials they use and how they source it (yes, unfortunately, using leather in American SUVs contributes to the Amazon deforestation), probably for the best.
Nearly 90 countries, so far, led by the US and the EU, pledged to slash methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. For businesses, it will be worth here having a closer look at their gas provider, and above all at their waste management.
There is also a lot to say about the adoption of the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement during the Glasgow conference. This article pertains to emission reductions trading. More on this to come
