Analysis and Environment

COP26: Climate summit mood is positive as first week draws to a close

A blitz of announcements during the first week of the COP26 climate summit has been positively received, but the real hard work happens next week as almost 200 governments must agree a final deal

By Adam Vaughan

5 November 2021

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 05: US special envoy for climate, John Kerry speaks about finance commitments to the global crisis, during a press conference on day six of the Cop 26 Summit at the SEC on November 4, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Today COP26 will focus on elevating the voice of young people and demonstrating the critical role of public empowerment and education in climate action. The 2021 climate summit in Glasgow is the 26th — US climate envoy John Kerry at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, UK
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

It has been a good first week for COP26. The start of the climate summit in Glasgow, UK, has been blessed by glitzy speeches, shiny deals and little public bickering.

But how good? We have already had three assessments of what all the commitments add up to – from a team at the University of Melbourne in Australia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the UN’s own climate body.

The first two said we are now on target for a 1.9°C and a 1.8°C world by…