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 (304KB 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 (304KB PDF)
The Nature’s Rights Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party). The bill would recognise nature as a legal subject, granting it specific rights for protection and restoration. The bill would set out a legal framework for how this would operate, including an integrated rights framework and mechanisms for how nature’s rights would be implemented and enforced.
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The UK is a signatory to the convention establishing an international claims commission for Ukraine. The commission would assess claims for compensation for damage and losses caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The House of Lords International Agreements Committee has broadly welcomed the convention, but also raised concerns about the scope and efficacy of the commission.
Recent tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina have raised concerns about stability and security in the country, particularly due to reports of external influence and recent secessionist rhetoric in Republika Srpska. This briefing outlines recent developments, international responses and the UK government’s position on Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of a House of Lords debate on the subject.
