COP26 is an international climate change conference held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It stands for ‘conference of the parties’ and is the 26th meeting of the parties to the UNFCCC. It is being held between 31 October and 12 November 2021. On 18 November 2021, the House of Lords is due to debate the outcomes of the conference.
COP26: aims, goals and progress (304 KB , PDF)
On 18 November 2021, the House of Lords is due to debate a motion moved by Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour) that “this House takes note of the outcome of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the challenges of implementing measures to tackle climate change”.
COP26 is an international climate change conference held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It stands for ‘conference of the parties’ and is the 26th meeting of the parties to the UNFCCC. COP26 is ongoing and runs from 31 October to 12 November 2021. It is being held in Glasgow under the UK’s presidency and in partnership with Italy.
Described by the UK Government as “an event many believe to be the world’s last best chance to get runaway climate change under control”, the conference will be attended by world leaders and many negotiators, government representatives, businesses, and citizens. The goals of the conference are to:
COP26 will continue work on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting global temperature increase to “well below” 2.0 degrees celsius on pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees celsius.
Parties to the Paris Agreement set ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) that contain information on targets, policies and measures for reducing national emissions and on adapting to climate change impacts. The UN has said that the combined effect of the NDCs will determine whether the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement are met. However, an update on NDCs in October 2021 by UN Climate Change suggested that there was an “urgent need” to increase the level of ambition of NDCs to keep warming well below 2 degrees celsius or to limit it to 1.5 degrees (based on scenarios considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
The COP26 website describes Paris as setting the destination and has said that “Glasgow must make it a reality”.
Section 4 of this briefing was updated on 15 November 2021 with high-level outcomes of the conference.
COP26: aims, goals and progress (304 KB , PDF)
India and Pakistan engaged in the fiercest fighting for many years in May 2025 following a terrorist attack in the Indian-controlled part of the contested region of Kashmir. The conflict has led to fears over the future stability of the region. The UK has offered diplomatic support but reiterated it is for India and Pakistan to find a long-term solution to the question of Kashmir and related issues such as future cooperation.
The Chagos Archipelago has been the subject of a long-standing dispute over its sovereignty between the UK and Mauritius. Having been retained by the UK since 1965, the largest island, Diego Garcia, later became the site of a joint UK-US military base. In May 2025, the UK reached an agreement to transfer sovereignty of the islands back to Mauritius, while maintaining an initial 99-year lease of Diego Garcia. The agreement also includes security and financial provisions.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill would make changes to the system for approving major infrastructure projects, planning committees and nature recovery. It would also make changes to electricity and transport infrastructure processes, development corporations, spatial development strategies, and compulsory purchase. The government intends the bill to help grow the economy by enabling important infrastructure and homes to be built more quickly. Some parts of the bill, particularly those related to nature recovery, have attracted criticism from opposition parties and external bodies.
