COP26 - 4th November 2021

Going into the 5th day of COP26 we look back at yesterday’s highlights from COP26: Wednesday 3rd November 2021:   Finance Ministers from around the globe gathered in Glasgow yesterday for day 4 of COP26 with discussions centred around funding for rapid, large scale climate action as part of the work towards limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 °C.   New finance commitments made on Wednesday have led to significant progress towards the $100 (£73) billion goal per year set for developed countries, with 95% of the top 20 developed countries now having made pledges beyond 2020. An updated compilation of the 2021-2025 climate finance commitments can be found here.

Over 450 banks, insurers and investors also pledged on Wednesday to put combating climate change at the centre of a collective $130 (£95) trillion at their disposal. This will be achieved through efforts to put green investing, science-based net zero targets and near term milestones, through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). The financial pledge through GFANZ is aimed at all assets managed by the institutions involved having net zero emissions by 2050.

This change in private sector financial institutions was praised by COP26 President Alok Sharma; "What we have seen over the last few years is a big move in the private sector and financial services sector to go green ... in the 1990s, clearly (then) climate finance, investing in green, was not mainstream. I do believe it is now mainstream."

Not everyone was as positive though, Sam Alvis, head of economy at the Green Alliance thinktank, said: “It is definite progress that the chancellor has got the Treasury on the pitch at Cop26. But trillions of dollars are still flowing to fossil fuels every day and voluntary measures have not got us far enough. To keep the 1.5 °C target alive, governments will need to regulate companies not just to publish transition plans but have strict criteria with legal bite on their credibility and pace.”

NWUPC Ltd have 24 full members, of these 12 are on the COP26 Universities Network and we’d like to highlight their work and that of our other members below with some of the projects and events that they are working on in areas of sustainability and the environment as part of COP26.

A Bangor student to represent the young people of Wales at the COP26 climate summit next month.  ‘Voices from the forest’ a film about bringing Madagascar’s rainforest into the heart of the international climate change debate planned to be shown at COP26.     Glyndwr University - COP26 - It’s time for real climate action   Keele University - COP26 Festival COP26 - Embedding sustainability into your business COP26 - Waste management and the circular economy   Liverpool John Moores University produced films about sea levels in the Philippines to be shown at COP26 Green Zone LJMU Podcast previewing COP26 Queens University Belfast - COP26 Queens University Belfast are hosting a series of COP26 events Community garden on-campus in Bolton Universities ‘build back greener’ agenda as part of COP26   University of Cumbria - COP26 Cumbria University exploring how to reach Net Zero The University of Manchester - COP26 9 representatives from the University of Manchester will attend the Blue Zone at COP26

Edge Hill - COP26 Sustainability Festival Thrifty Thursday - COP26 - special focus on ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’.     Harper Adams - Countdown to COP26 Net Zero Farming - Harper Adams University has pledged to become the first net zero, mixed crop-livestock farm.   Lancaster University - COP26 Fesitval  Pollution Pods come to Lancaster as part of COP26 COP26 International Student Webinar   MMU at COP26 10 representatives from MMU to attend COP26 from a wide range of disciplines with experience in helping individuals and organisations embrace zero carbon sustainable futures. Developing skills to get to Net Zero   Ulster University - COP26 University of Chester - COP26 Geo-Bites-COP26 and COVID 19 - Global drivers in change   University of Liverpool - COP26 University of Liverpool to present at COP26   University of Salford - COP26 University of Salford are hosting a series of COP26 events over the course of COP26   The University of Wolverhampton’s Springfield Campus to be part of the West Midlands COP26 Regional Roadshow