COP26 President Alok Sharma urges global community to hasten Climate Change discussions

COP26 (or the 26th Conference of the Parties) President Alok Sharma urged delegates at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 5 to speed up talks in the next 24 hours to ensure a good outcome in the event's second and last week. The former UK business minister stated that because next week marks a more political, high-level phase of COP26, with ministers arriving to help design procedures, documents should be available for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) subsidiary bodies' concluding plenary on Saturday, November 6.

In a statement released by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Alok Sharma said, “It is not possible for a large number of unresolved issues to continue into week two. In this context, I urge the Chairs, Groups and all delegations to expedite discussions over the coming 24 hours, focussing efforts on the balanced set of issues which are critical to what needs to be achieved here in Glasgow.” The president of COP26 expressed his gratitude to all delegations for working so hard this week. He also thanked the Subsidiary Body Chairs for their leadership, as well as all of the co-facilitators who are working tirelessly to assist Parties in completing their work on all subjects.

India urges Int'l community to prioritise Solar Power at COP26

On Thursday, India urged the world community to prioritise solar power in energy deployment at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav is now representing India at a special event sponsored by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in conjunction with the United Kingdom under the Green Grid Initiative - One Sun, One World, One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG). During the event, Yadav emphasised the importance of grid interconnection in reviving regional integration and moving the country closer to a low-carbon energy system.

In May 2021, India and the United Kingdom agreed to combine the Green Grids Initiative and the One Sun One World One Grid projects in order to launch GGI-OSOWOG at the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow in November 2021. GGI-OSOWOG will provide additional technical, commercial, and scientific collaboration to help facilitate cross-border renewable energy transfer initiatives, giving OSOWOG global infrastructure. The Glasgow summit, which concludes on November 12, is considered to be the last opportunity to address climate change and enact serious commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Image: AP