GOAL: Covid-19 showed us how to adopt a cohesive approach to climate

Looking after the most vulnerable was how we handled Covid. The same approach should be used to fight climate crisis, writes Mary Van Lieshout

Protestors from Ocean Rebellion on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow close to the site of the upcoming Cop26 conference, highlighting the degradation of the Ocean. Marine ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes act as a blue carbon sink and are 10 times more effective at absorbing carbon emissions than terrestrial forests. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA

AS THE world’s leaders descend upon Glasgow for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), there is a renewed sense of global climate action in the air.

The global community will present accelerated action towards the 2015 Paris Agreement, with the ultimate aim of securing global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5C by the end of the century. Reduction of polluting emissions and increases of global climate targets and climate finance contributions are all on the table for negotiation over the next two weeks.