GLASGOW: It’s day two of COP26 – the conference that has been billed as the last chance saloon to save the planet for future generations.
In the opening day, the event’s President, Prime Minister Boris Johnson seemed to liken the event to a James Bond movie, while US President Joe Biden was pulled up for apparently falling asleep during the speeches.
Outside the conference and across the water was 18-year-old activist Greta Thunberg, who said nothing more than talk would be achieved at the conference, describing the event as just yet more “blah, blah, blah.”
But there were some signs of progress: More than 100 global leaders pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.
Tuesday sees more speeches by world leaders, including representatives from Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon.
Here are the highlights of the events of day 2, Tuesday, as they unfold (all times are GMT):
12:43pm: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s last-minute withdrawal from the COP26 Summit in Glasgow this week is yet more evidence of his disastrous environmental strategy and his inability to listen to his own people, experts have told Arab News.
12:38pm: Countries pledge 30% reduction in methane emissions.
12:30pm: Japanese PM Kishida says Japan is ready to offer up to $10bn in additional assistance for decarbonization in Asia
09:45am: China says President Xi Jinping was not given an opportunity to deliver a video address to the COP26 climate talks.
08:41am: BlackRock Inc says it has raised $673m for an infrastructure fund with backing from the French, German and Japanese governments to invest in climate-focused projects such as renewable energy in emerging markets.
06:00am : In an interview published today, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UK, Prince Khalid bin Bandar told Arab News that the Kingdom was “ready, willing and able” to lead the world in tackling climate change and global warming.
