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)
Farmers can help flood prevention. In England, farmers can receive payments for carrying out farming activities that support flood preparedness. The government also provides financial support to farmers impacted by severe flooding. A new Flood Resilience Taskforce has been launched to coordinate flooding preparation, as well as a Rural Flood Resilience Partnership to help farmers and rural communities build resilience to future flooding.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL] is a government bill that would give regulators new powers to regulate the way private water companies operate in England and Wales. This includes the introduction of new penalties for water companies and the power to block executive bonuses. The bill would also make changes to the special administration regime for water companies to ensure the government and regulators were notified ahead of any winding up petitions.
![Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 17 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/01/Business-VIGs-568x426.jpg)
The Labour government has called for an “improved and ambitious relationship” with Europe, including a new UK-EU security pact and stronger bilateral partnerships with partners including France, Germany and Joint Expeditionary Force allies. This briefing outlines some of the actions proposed and undertaken by the UK government to improve ties since the July 2024 general election.
