The UN climate conference in Glasgow

Abstract

The United Nations held its annual climate-change conference in early November 2021. The event served as a forum for countries to revisit the climate pledges they made under the 2015 Paris agreement and to offer revised plans for meeting these commitments in the decades ahead. Several large carbon-emitters – including Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico and Russia – revealed plans that were not significantly more ambitious than those made in 2015. However, new agreements were reached at the conference relating to methane and coal, and the United States and China agreed to a joint declaration describing steps they will take in the coming years to work together on climate change. In summary, a significant gap remains between pledged emissions reductions and those needed to keep average, long-term warming below the target described in the Paris agreement.