Dr Tara Shine: We all need to be part of the conversation sparked by Cop26

We all have a role to play to reduce emissions by 51% by 2030. If done well, it will end homelessness and make houses cosy and cheaper to run, it will make walking and cycling safe, reduce congestion, clean our water and our air, writes Dr Tara Shine 

Cop26 elevated our national and dinner table conversation on climate change. Pictured are climate activists protesting during the final day of the summit.

For two weeks, Cop26 grabbed headlines around the world. As someone who has been to too many of these annual climate summits, I was pleasantly surprised that people were finally interested in what they were about and why I was there. 

For years friends and family wondered why I abandoned my family for two weeks at a time to attend COPs around the world, but there was little curiosity about what the event was all about. This is hardly surprising given they are highly technical discussions about gases, risks and financial flows and there was little media coverage to shine a light on proceedings.