Final Chance for the 1.5 Degrees? Expectations for the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow

After a one-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international efforts to combat climate change are back on the global agenda. A crucial part of these activities will be the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), to be held in Glasgow in November 2021. The stated goal of the convention is to “accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.” To this end, participating states will have to resolve remaining negotiation deadlocks (e.g. on international emissions-trading) and expand their contributions and financial support. However, this will be a complex endeavour as states from the Global South and Global North, civil society actors, and the general public have widely diverging opinions on how the “1.5 degrees” goal is to be reached, and how the burden should be shared.

This GIGA Forum/GIGA Talk addresses the complicated negotiations to be expected during COP26: Who will act on which policy fields? What role does trust play in overcoming remaining differences? What role can civil society play to facilitate negotiations and make COP26 successful?

Speakers: Dr. Michael Brüggemann is Professor of Climate and Science Communication at the University of Hamburg.

Dr. Heike Schroeder is Professor of Environmental Governance at the School of International Development of the University of East Anglia.

Jan Klenke is a Doctoral Researcher at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA).

Eva Marsland is a climate activist from Fridays for Future and a student of Environmental Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg (HAW).

Moderation: Dr. Dietmar Molthagen is the Head of the Julius-Leber-Forum of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Hamburg.