The author, wrapped up for a well-ventilated COP26

Elizabeth May

November 2, 2021

Here in Glasgow, the major news of the past 24 hours has focused on two major pledges, among other measures: Monday’s Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, signed by 114 countries so far, and Tuesday’s Global Methane Pledge, signed by 105. Canada signed onto both measures.

But before diving into the climate content of the day, I thought I should share the many ways this pandemic COP manages COVID risk.

It is truly bizarre to be in a throng of thousands of people after 20 months of near-isolation. It is not as though things are “back to normal.”

My first flight in 13 months was a nine-hour long-haul (so that we took only one flight to get here), masked all the way. Entering the UK required an expensive test no more than 72 hours prior to arrival.

Anyone attending COP26 has been multi-screened to be COVID-free and double vaccinated. The venue — the Scottish Event Campus on the north bank of the Clyde River — is well-ventilated, which is to say, doors and openings of all kinds are left open and we’re all freezing. It was a mistake to check my coat yesterday– one I will not repeat. Today, I brought my fingerless gloves to be able to type while avoiding frozen digits.

In addition to those precautions, on arrival at our billet in suburban Glasgow, a second-day test kit awaited us. Another serious cost, but a sophisticated and exacting test kit to be deposited only in priority post boxes. Last night as we left the site, we picked up 14 days’ worth of daily tests (do-it-yourself with immediate results, not unlike an at-home pregnancy test) from one of the many hotels listed as distribution points for daily COVID tests.

I have to admit a sense of awe at the deep level of organization around COVID caution at this event. If they get this wrong, COP26 could be remembered as a super-spreader event. And no one wants that.

The day’s events sprawled from carbon pricing to methane reduction, with another long list of country leaders speaking to the nearly empty plenary halls (another COVID precaution). I focused on the initiative to save the world’s forests — an issue especially important to me as both a conservationist and a proud British Columbia MP.

The news of the significant pledge to arrest and reverse deforestation leaked out late yesterday. It received news coverage before it was actually announced here. No question, it is significant. Like all climate promises, it will require significant follow-up.

I have to admit a sense of awe at the deep level of organization around COVID caution at this event. If they get this wrong, COP26 could be remembered as a super-spreader event. And no one wants that.

The session unveiling the pledge was impressive in its own right. On stage were UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, US President Joe Biden and the president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba. The rainforests of Gabon and the Congo Basin are significant and have greater climate resilience than the Amazon.

In total, the deforestation pledge will cover more than 13 million square miles of forest around the world. Canada has also signed, as did Brazil. The declaration was backed with public and private financial commitments of $19 billion USD to invest in protecting and restoring forests. Of that, $1.7 billion is specifically committed to the efforts of Indigenous peoples in forest protection.

Biden spoke of the market value of forests as carbon sinks being of greater value than their economic value once cut down. Reminds me of what we have been saying to the government of British Columbia about Fairy Creek – “Worth more standing!”

In a separate announcement, global investors with over $8.7 trillion in assets committed to withdrawing investments in projects resulting in deforestation — and to do so by 2025. Let’s hope this stops the loss of forests to soy, palm oil and cattle production.

The whole basket of nature-based climate solutions just got a serious boost. But as ever, the devil is in the details. We need far greater awareness that grasslands are even more effective at sequestering carbon than forests. We need to restore forests, especially mangroves, while protecting old growth. But not all areas need to be covered in trees. And the issue of market forces and the use of markets, as ever, must be carefully watched.

For now, I am prepared to suspend disbelief and be grateful for progress.

Tomorrow, we expect some big news from UN climate finance guru Mark Carney and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (among others).

I’ll keep you posted!

Contributing Writer Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, is the former leader of the Green Party of Canada. She is filing for Policy on a regular basis from COP26 in Glasgow.