The COP26 summit and the threat of rising temperatures

The Greek Current

World leaders recently gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, where they signed off on the Glasgow Climate Pact, which states that carbon emissions will have to fall by 45 percent by 2030 to keep alive the goal set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This summit followed a summer of record breaking heat waves and intense wildfires, such as those experienced by Greece and other Mediterranean countries, which were largely attributed to climate change. Experts Alice Hill and Madeline Babin join The Greek Current to assess whether COP26 was a success, look at the many challenges rising temperatures pose to humans across the globe, and explore the policy initiatives that can be adopted in response.

Alice Hill is the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. She previously served as special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council staff, leading the development of national policy to build resilience to catastrophic risks, including climate change.

Madeline Babin is a research associate for the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, where her research focuses on climate change policy and building resilience to the catastrophic risk of climate change.

Read Alice Hill and Madeline Babin’s latest pieces here:

What COP26 Did and Didn’t Accomplish

The Policy Challenge of Extreme Heat and Climate Change

A World Overheating: How Countries Should Adapt to Climate Extremes

The Fight for Climate After COVID-19

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