With COP26 less than six months away, pressure continues to mount on the UK Government to showcase global co-ordinated action in tackling climate change. In the words of the COP President, Alok Sharma, “Whether we like it or not, whether through action or inaction, we are now choosing the future. This is what makes the next United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, COP26, so critical. If we do not take this chance to keep [a global rise of] 1.5 degrees alive, it will slip from our grasp. And so will our best hope of building the future we want to see. So, COP26 must be the moment that every country, and every part of society, embraces their responsibility, to protect our precious planet.”

Whilst Sharma is busy conducting shuttle diplomacy, non-state actors want to know whether they will be physically present in the conference’s ‘green zone’ or virtually present on Zoom. Sharma understandably wants the former and has repeatedly insisted that there is consensus amongst climate ministers that in-person discussions are vital to the success of the negotiations.  

However, the official delegation alone usually consists of around 9,000 global attendees, and the practicalities of the drastic variation in vaccination rates around the world brings forth a harsh logistical question. Head of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, stated recently in the Financial Times (FT) that a faster global vaccine rollout would enable COP to meet physically, referring to this issue as one of “the vaccines ‘haves’ and the vaccine ‘have nots’”.  It raises several highly sensitive political questions that will dominate international discussions over the next few months. Non-state actors fear that the focus over the next few weeks will be more on the logistics of COP rather than concrete outcomes. 

In a recent major speech in Glasgow, Sharma argued that he has “always championed a physical COP”, stating that the desire for one is “what I have been hearing loud and clear from governments and communities around the world.” Along with the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, Public Health bodies and the United Nations (UN), the UK Government is exploring several possible COVID-19 security measures, including testing and vaccinating attendees ahead of the conference. Further plans are expected to be revealed following the conclusion of COP Bureau discussions in mid-June: the consequences of which, above all else, are likely to define the ultimate success of COP26. 

This article first appeared in Cicero/amo’s May 2021 newsletter. Please click here to access all articles.

Welcome to the first Rebuilding Britain Index report.

The Rebuilding Britain Index (RBI) is a new community-led index that tracks social and economic progress across the whole of the UK.

The UK stands at a pivotal juncture in its modern history. The global pandemic has resulted in unprecedented impacts, both in terms of the loss of life and lost economic output. The UK economy shrank by 20 percent in the course of 2020, representing the biggest annual fall in over 300 years.

It is vital that as we now look to rebuild our lives, and our communities, that we create an economy which enables us to “build back better”. This means building an economy which better meets the needs of local communities, narrowing the gaps in household and regional disparities, and addressing the growing sustainability challenges facing all communities.

Legal & General’s role, as the leading institutional investor in UK infrastructure, is to support the UK’s efforts to build back better. This means channelling investments into the right infrastructure. This can only be done by giving local communities a key role in determining which infrastructure they need to better support inclusive and sustainable economic growth and restore social mobility.

Working in collaboration with our research partners Cicero/amo, our goal is to firmly establish the Rebuilding Britain Index in providing local communities with a strong voice in identifying their investment priorities. This will help to channel investment into those areas which will make the greatest difference in the quickest timeframe. Our quarterly updates will provide a regular snapshot for how successfully the UK is helping to improve people’s lives and to assess whether the UK is building back better and levelling up across the UK countries and regions.

Click here to access the report in full

Cicero/amo is working in partnership with L&G to develop an index that combines key indicators of social and economic progress. In developing the Index, we have identified seven key areas covering all aspects of the UK’s economic and social infrastructure. For each of these seven areas we built out a series of quantitative and attitudinal statistical measures. In total, the Rebuilding Britain Index (RBI) combines more than 50 different measures to provide a comprehensive assessment of how the UK’s economic and social infrastructure is helping us to build back better. It also benchmarks the UK’s success in ‘levelling up’ across the left behind communities and households.

Please do get in touch for further information or to discuss the report.

From 1-12 November 2021, the UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), in partnership with Italy.

The COP26 summit will bring Parties together for the first five-year review of the Paris Agreement and it is vital that the UK galvanises global action to reach the ambitious targets of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). State and non-state actors are due to congregate in Glasgow; all working towards tackling climate change through coordinated action.

To demystify the COP26 summit and navigate the various climate-related initiatives, the Cicero/AMO team has produced this primer. Our primer breaks down the UN terminology, explains the difference between the ‘Blue Zone’ and the ‘Green Zone’, introduces you to key stakeholders, important dates for your diary, and explains how organisations can get involved.

Scroll down to access Cicero/amo’s guide to COP26

Please note that the expression of interest process for exhibiting or hosting an event within the UK Government managed spaces closes at 17:00 GMT on Friday 5 March 2021.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss the themes of this document or if you would to find out more about how we are supporting organisations with their involvement in COP26.