UK’s Presidency of COP26 ends as world leaders meet in Egypt for COP27

Sharm El Sheikh: One year on from hosting COP26 in Glasgow, the UK has handed over the Presidency of the United Nations Climate Change Conference to Egypt as world leaders, including the UK’s PM, Rishi Sunak, meet at Sharm el Sheikh for COP27.

The UK’s Presidency of COP26 made progress on each of its four goals of: mitigation (reducing emissions), adaptation (helping those already impacted by climate change), finance (enabling countries to deliver on their climate goals) and collaboration (working together to deliver even greater action). Most importantly, if countries which agreed the Glasgow Climate Pact deliver on their commitments to phase down coal power, halt or reverse deforestation and speed up the switch to electric vehicles, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is still possible. This will be critical for preventing devastating climate impacts and protecting vulnerable countries like Pakistan.

At COP26 the UK pledged £55m in financial support to Pakistan to assist with building climate resilience and tackling climate change. This support is in addition to £26.5m provided by the UK Government and £30m donated by UK citizens to provide relief following this year’s devastating floods.

Having handed over the Presidency, the UK is maintaining its ambitious goals on climate change. This year the UK is launching the ‘Accelerating to Zero Coalition’ which will promote the use of more electric cars worldwide. The UK is also initiating the ‘Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership’ to halt and reverse forest loss and will be working with developed countries to increase the availability of climate finance to countries such as Pakistan.

Development Director at the British High Commission, Islamabad Jo Moir, said the following: “This year’s floods are a stark reminder of impact climate change is having on our lives. Globally, we will face more climate catastrophes, and climate-vulnerable countries like Pakistan face enormous challenges. Business as usual is not enough. At COP27 we need to make further progress on ensuring countries which have been affected by climate related disasters have the necessary tools to build-back smarter. The UK will be a leading voice on this.”