After nearly two decades of work and a final burst of 36 hours of round the clock negotiations, on 3 March 2023 in New York, Nations agreed to the “Draft Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction”.

The hosts of COP28, the UAE, have appointed Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber as COP President. The man who will take on this crucial role is currently the CEO of the state oil company as well as chairman of its renewables division. His appointment has caused concern over corporate influence at the COPs, but could the public scrutiny on the UAE and the President benefit us in the long run?

Loss & Damage is one of the most contentious topics being discussed at COP27. Here we provide some thoughts on the negotiations, further reading on the topic, and the relevant text from the Paris Agreement to support anyone negotiating in Egypt.

Yesterday, on the 16th of August, President Biden signed into law the biggest piece of climate legislation that the US has ever managed to pass. The Inflation Reduction Act was the result of years of negotiations within the Democratic party. The bill provides significant investments in climate, energy and healthcare, which are projected to help reduce the US’s CO2 emissions to 40% below their peak by 2030. So how did the bill finally pass, what is actually in it, and what effect will it have?

On 28 July 2022, by 161 votes to 0, with 8 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (UNGA 76/300) recognising the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment as a human right.

In this blog, Shreya KC, a young climate activist from Nepal, gives us a fascinating update on recent climate negotiations being held in Bonn, Germany in preparation for COP27 in Egypt later this year. Shreya was a campaign coordinator for our friends at MOCK COP and the national youth delegate from Nepal to COP26, she also delivered the opening plenary statement on behalf of YOUNGO at Bonn so is incredibly well-placed to update us on the progress in the most recent climate talks.

In Nov 2021 we sat down with Kirils Holstovs, bridge engineer and one of the lead authors of the COP26 Joint Statement of International Youth Organisations, to discuss the statement and his experiences at COP26

Our list of the key dates in the climate calendar for 2022

As the dust settles on COP26 and the ink dries on the Glasgow Climate Pact, we have compiled the views of activists, climate scientists, negotiators and the COP president on what was achieved.

COP26andBeyond will be hosting several events during COY16 & COP26:

“Beyond COP26” Workshop @ Virtual Conference of Youth. 30th Oct.

“Net Zero Scotland Community - Future Series” - Glasgow. 4th Nov

“Beyond COP26”. with After the Pandemic. Uni of Strathclyde - Glasgow. 4th Nov

For our third article in a series on Climate & Biodiversity, we are privileged to have this expert contribution from Dr Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife & Countryside Link on the critical importance of the forthcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Kunming, China in October 2021, and its links to the climate negotiations.

In Part 3 of a three-part series, we look at the implications for finance from the IEA & IPCC reports. We discuss the potential for stranded assets, regulatory and investor expectations, and the potential impact of climate litigation.

In Part 2 of a three-part series, we look at the initial response to the recent IEA & IPCC reports from governments, and some of the wider implications for financial institutions.

In this first of a three-part series, we look at the way in which the publication in the summer of 2021 of two reports, from the IAE and the IPCC, has fundamentally changed the ground rules for fossil fuel investment.

In the run up to COP26, we are continuing to investigate inspiring actions and examples on climate change from young people in different parts of the world.

In this article we were lucky to be able to put some interview questions to 15-year-old South Korean climate activist Jiheyon (Cherry) Sung.

Summarising the UK Committee on Climate Change’s reports on the UK’s progress on reducing emissions and adapting to climate change.

COP26andbeyond interviewed Vikrant Srivastava, a climate activist and commentator, to talk about India’s coal industry.

We asked Kirsty Platt, International Collaboration Specialist at Scottish Enterprise, to give a Scottish viewpoint on the upcoming COP26 conference, due to take place in Glasgow this November.

In March 2019 Cumbria County Council approved plans for a new £165 million deep coal mine. We look at why the decision was made and what that means for the UK’s credibility at COP26.

Our look forward to the Climate Adaption Summit on the 25th & 26th January