Summary

  • On day four of the climate summit, the focus turns to how the world finances the transition to green economies

  • World leaders have left Glasgow with some important deals agreed but many difficult issues remain on the negotiating table

  • Developing countries are angry that $100bn in promised annual climate finance is yet to materialise

  • They say that those with the most historical responsibility for climate change should pay for efforts to tackle it and adapt to its effects

  • UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak promises to accelerate that finance and says the global financial system is being rewired for net zero

  • COP26's overarching goal is to keep the world on track for 1.5C of warming, which scientists say will help us avoid the worst impacts

  1. UK firms to be ordered to prove how they will hit net zero targetpublished at 08:08 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2021

    city of londonImage source, Getty Images

    Today at COP26 is all about finance - and under new Treasury rules, most big UK firms and financial institutions will be forced to show how they intend to hit climate change targets.

    By 2023, they will have to set out detailed public plans for how they will move to a low-carbon future - in line with the UK's 2050 net-zero target.

    Plans will be submitted to an expert panel to ensure they are not just spin.

    But net-zero commitments will not be mandatory and green groups say the proposals do not go far enough.

    Firms and their shareholders will be left to decide how their businesses adapt to this transition, including how they intend to decarbonise the emissions they finance.

  2. What to watch out for today - and why it matterspublished at 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2021

    Helen Briggs

    What’s happening today?

    With world leaders out of the picture, the task of getting 197 countries to agree on climate goals falls to negotiating teams, who will head for backrooms to try to find common ground on gaps in the Paris agreement and ramping up climate action. For everyone else, it’s finance day, with finance ministers and senior industry leaders in attendance to hear from big names.

    What to watch?

    Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to outline plans to make the UK the world’s first net-zero financial centre in his speech at 09:00 GMT. There could be international announcements on funding for greener technologies. And we should hear an update about efforts to make up the pot for the $100bn (£73bn) a year promised to poorer countries to help them adjust to climate change.

    How does it affect me?

    The world will require trillions of pounds of investment to switch to a low-carbon economy. Banks and other financial institutions can influence this shift through the money they lend to energy companies. How you save and invest can make a difference to the climate. You can demand action or choose greener organisations.

  3. What happened yesterday?published at 07:58 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2021

    Before we cover today’s developments, let’s look back at what happened yesterday at the summit.

    It was the final day of the conference for many world leaders:

    • US President Joe Biden used a final speech to hail the progress made so far - and criticise China and Russia’s leaders for not attending
    • “I can't think of any two days where more has been accomplished when dealing with climate,” he said
    • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was upbeat - saying: “I am cautiously optimistic… With talks with around 120 world leaders, we have pulled back a goal or perhaps even two"
    • Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for countries to push harder
    • “We have seen hard things not get done in the past, but that is no reason to not continue to believe we can push harder and bring more people along, and rise to the moment, that quite frankly, citizens around the world are expecting of us collectively,” he said

    There were several key announcements:

  4. Good morningpublished at 07:52 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2021

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of developments at COP26 - the ongoing UN climate summit in Glasgow.

    We’ll bring you updates throughout the day as the conference focuses on financing the world’s climate goals.