COP 26 Day #1: Big Statements

As the first day of #COP26 nears its end I have decided to share some key takeaways from the speeches given by the world leaders in Glasgow.

First of all, it must be stated how similar all the speeches were and how (maybe with the exception of Prince Charles and Sir David Attenborough) all the speeches missed one key point. That being that threatening will never work. It hasn’t worked for smoking, drug addiction and neither it will work for the climate change.

The world leaders must acknowledge that positive motivation and looking for market-driven transition is the right way for us to succeed in saving our planet. The role of the world leaders should thus be the creation of a speedy and confident framework that will price in efficiently the cost of carbon, biodiversity and the overall sustainability into the overall economy.

Let’s hope that the following days will tackle namely the double accounting issues of the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, as well as a data-driven approach in pricing carbon into our economy.

Below are some interesting quotes from the selected world leaders from the Opening Speeches at #COP26 from Glasgow.

Boris Johnson

• The children who will judge us are not yet born
• Canada warming up faster than the rest of the world
• Lifeboat for humanity
• We have the ideas, the technology and the bankers
• Diffuse that bomb

Brianna Fruean

• ‘e pala ma’a ae lē pala upu’. It means that even stones decay, but words remain

António Guterres

• 6 hottest years on record from the last COP
• Either we stop it or it stops us
• Climate action army
• Create financial and technological Conditions to accelerate decarbonization

Charles, Prince of Wales

• How do we pull the private sector together
• Map out in very practical terms what it will take to make the transition
• Each sector needs a clear strategy
• Help finance the transition efforts so that the financial risk is reduced
• If we can develop a pipeline of many more sustainable and bankable projects at a greater scale it will attract greater investment
• Confidence without the goal posts moving
• Trillions of dollars in support of transition
• Find practical ways of overcoming differences

Sir David Attenborough

• The stability we all depend on is breaking
• Those who have done the least are being the hardest hit
• New industrial revolution powered by millions of sustainable innovations
• We will all share in the benefits affordable clear energy, clean air, healthy food to sustain us all
• Our motivation should not be fear but hope