Cop26 pact demands stronger targets and faster transition

Countries agree to phase down coal power and adopt global rules for carbon trade

Nearly 200 countries have agreed to strengthen their 2030 emission reduction targets and to speed up the transition to low-carbon energy systems under a pact agreed at the end of the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow. However, current emissions reduction goals still leave the world on course for a temperature rise of 2.4°C by the end of the century according to independent assessment body Climate Action Tracker—far above the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. “Current policies would leave us on a path to a devastating temperature rise,” the UK government said at the close of Cop26. But the 1.5°C target is still theoretically achievable if countries greatly strengthen their commitments in comi