Countdown To COP26: What Is COP26?

2021 is shaping up to be a momentous year here at Cullen and as we head into our centenary year, our commitment to helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals has never been stronger.

Coinciding with our 100^th birthday, we will see our city host COP26, the largest gathering of world leaders ever to take place on British soil to address the Climate Crisis on a global scale.

what is COP26 and why is it so important?

• COP26 is the 26^th Conference of the Parties and will be attended by the 196 countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty agreed in 1994¹.
• Central to the discussions at COP26 will be the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016².
• Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels².
• To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate-neutral world by mid-century². COP26 this year is particularly important as five years have passed since the initial goals were set, enabling results to be assessed and targets revised accordingly.

To celebrate the upcoming COP26 event, and to take some time to reflect on our own objectives, we are launching our very own Countdown to COP. Every month we will be looking at a different aspect of sustainability using the UN’s Sustainable Development goals.

what are the UN’s sustainability goals?

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030. These form the framework for the global approach to achieving sustainability so what better checklist could there be?

Keep an eye out for our first #CullenCOP26Countdown piece, looking at the SDG of Health & Well-being – a timely topic for us all.

 

1.Climate Change: What is COP26, and why is it happening in Glasgow in 2021? – CBBC Newsround
2.https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement