COP26: Priorities for Action

Jump to:

• Climate Finance
• Energy transition
• Nature-based solutions

OPM's previous and upcoming COP26 events:

•  Energy and Economic Growth (EEG) Green grids – Cross border trade in renewables and the energy transition
•  EEG Launch of the Roundtable Initiative on Strategic Energy Planning Principles. More details here
• Simon Trace, delivers the keynote speech for this UEFCO event Establishing a job creation agenda for the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa in Uganda
• Kirsty Newman 'Our Future, Our Voice: Girls' Education and Tackling the Climate Crisis'. 
• Bimal Raj Regmi 'Scaling Locally Led Adaptation; Experiences of Nepal in localizing adaptation and resilience'. Watch more here (Nepali)

Climate Finance

Tackling climate change is an expensive business. Huge investments are needed to replace fossil fuels and to protect people against climate impacts such as increased floods. But returns on these investments, by avoiding worse problems in the future, are even bigger. Developed countries have signed up to finding $100 billion a year to help developing countries address climate challenges, and COP 26 could be the first time they honour this promise. The climate finance needed to help developing countries will come partly from international climate finance, partly from their own resources, and partly from private sector investment.

See below for more, including how we are supporting Nepal's leadership in climate action, and our latest policy brief on climate finance. 

Energy transition

The world’s transition to clean energy forms a central part of the climate challenge. Moving away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives involves complex transformation across many sectors – from global transportation, to the way industry operates and the way we produce food. And all this needs to be accomplished while meeting the needs of a billion people still without access to reliable energy, and ensuring fair opportunity for the developing world to grow. Making these changes will require technological innovation, huge investment, bold policy reform and unprecedented global cooperation.

See below for more about our flagship energy project, Energy and Economic Growth (EEG), and our latest thinking on energy transition.

Nature-based solutions

Is planting trees really the only nature-based way to help mitigate climate change? Are we starting to ignore the benefit of existing natural forest cover, wetlands, our protected area networks and the threats to habitat integrity that undermine the ecological functionality of these natural systems?

We work with national authorities and local partners to apply nature-based solutions to enhance the conservation of intact landscapes and regenerate degraded ecosystems across Africa and Asia. Our current work in southern Africa is contributing towards the more effective conservation of over 4 million hectares of land, of which more than half a million hectares is classed as being of significant biological importance and contributes towards the effective conservation of African biodiversity.

Climate conversations

In June our Urban Planning Lead, Rashika Das Roy, took part in the British Council's 'Conversation for Change' which opened with a speech by COP26 President Alok Sharma. The panel, moderated by BBC presenter Graihagh Jackson, discussed the role of the arts, culture and education on climate change.

Our expertise:

You can find more information on our specific areas of expertise in climate change and details of our project work here.