COP26 - UN Climate Change Conference

The COP stands for "Conference Of the Parties", and the parties are the signatories to the UN Climate Convention. COP26 is the 26th summit and was held in Glasgow, Scotland between 31 October and 12 November 2021.

UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)
COP26 World Leaders Summit. 02/11/2021, Glasgow, UK. Photo: Andrew Parsons.

About COP26

At the climate summit held in Paris in 2015, 191 countries signed the so-called Paris Agreement where the countries promised to limit the increase in global average temperature to "well below 2 degrees, preferably to 1.5 degrees”.

During COP26, the participants needed to agree on issues concerning the rules of the Paris Agreement. Some important issues that have been discussed are how emissions trading between countries can be done and how the most vulnerable and poor countries should be compensated for damage that occurs due to climate change. Read more

Conference on health and climate change during COP26

During COP26, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has organised a full-day seminar on the health effects of climate change, green and healthy recovery from Covid19 and climate justice. Health effects will occur because of, among other things, extreme heat, floods, droughts, forest fires and hurricanes.

WHO has also presented the report "The Health Argument for Climate Action – A COP26 Special Report” with 10 strong arguments for action against climate change, ranging from economic arguments (costs of ill health caused by climate change) to all the millions of lives that can be saved thanks to reduced carbon emissions.

Climate Strategy for KI

Karolinska Institutet intends to contribute its share in meeting global climate challenges. In 2019, KI signed the Climate Framework, the purpose of which is to increase the pace of society’s climate adaption. Read more about the Climate Strategy for KI