ENGAGE @ COP 26

November 12, 2021

United Action

The 26th United Nations Climate change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) took place in Glasgow from the 31st October-12th November 2021. The summit brought 120 global leaders and other parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. ENGAGE Partners were fortunate to co-organize and participate in three side event sessions at this year’s COP 26 event, highlighting the results of the project and raising awareness to policy makers and relevant stakeholders.

ENGAGE insights for a global effort

Kicking off ENGAGE’s presence on November 1, 2021, were Elina Brutschin and Bas van Ruijven at the EU Pavilion. Brutschin discussed feasibility and ENGAGE results at the session, “What does transforming the energy system really mean? Adaptation, resilience & transition challenges” and van Ruijven followed thereafter discussing net-zero futures and climate change impacts at, “The Journey from Scientific Insights to Societal Action.

Later that week, an international group of ENGAGE partners, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India, the International Institute for Applied systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria, and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) joined together with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan, to organize and host a UNFCCC Side-Event on transitioning towards low-carbon and climate resilient pathways by 2050. At this side-event, the presenters showcased different pathways for achieving a just, low-carbon, and climate-resilient transition by 2050. This included key considerations for addressing mitigation and adaptation challenges, such as technology innovations, energy use, and emissions to ratchet up climate ambitions. The hosts were honored to feature Minister George Heyman (British Columbia’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change) who discussed the Roadmap to a Clean British Columbia to 2030 providing fruitful insights about the actions Canada and British Columbia were taking to combat climate change.

Resources

Three policy briefs have been developed in close cooperation between IIASA, PBL, and Kyoto University for COP 26 in order to further disseminate ENGAGE results directly to policy makers. The policy briefs include topics on: global scenarios, national scenarios, and feasibility.

Finally, ENGAGE and its partners have created a repository of recordings for the UNFCCC Side-Event that the public may access here.