In the week since COP26 wrapped up, there has been much reflection on the results. Have we done enough to ward off looming disaster? Some progress was certainly made, but it must be put into context.
Before the summit, there was a strong recommendation from the IPCC to focus on immediate cuts in emissions, so what happened to that? The key requirement set out by the UN was to reduce global carbon emissions throughout the 2020s by more than 7% a year, a reduction of around 50% by 2030.
This might be enough to slow down the frequency of severe weather events and limit the risk of exceeding tipping points such as rapid methane release from permafrost or carbon emissions from uncontrollable wildfires, which are both dangerous accelerants of climate breakdown.
