The Guardian

Some of the best images from the global climate summit in Scotland on Tuesday 9 November

Dozens of protesters rang their bicycle bells outside the Cop26 conference in Glasgow under the slogan: 'This machine fights climate change'. Bikes are not on the agenda being discussed during 'transport day' at the climate meeting, with electric cars at the centre of Wednesday's talks

• Cop26: latest updates

But ‘landmark agreement’ signed by 24 countries also notable for absences of major manufacturers

• Cop26 live news and reaction

Twenty-four countries and a group of leading car manufacturers have committed to ending the era of fossil-fuel powered vehicles by 2040 “or earlier”, in a major new commitment set at Cop26.

The agreement to sell only zero-emissions vehicles from this time, unveiled at the UN climate summit in Glasgow on Thursday, includes Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK, which had already agreed to phase out new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030.

Move is recognition of gap between current pledges and goals but critics say it does not go far enough

• What is Cop26 and why does it matter? The complete guide
• Cop26 live news

A draft of the Cop26 negotiation outcome published overnight urges countries to strengthen their 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets by the end of next year in a recognition of the yawning gap between current pledges and the landmark 2015 Paris agreement.

The text, released by the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, called on all countries to increase their short-term commitments in 2022, which would be a step forward. It also asks them to agree to an annual high-level ministerial round table focused on raising ambition further starting next November.

The former US president directed his Cop26 speech at young people, but he made the task of keeping warming to 1.5C far harder

Hundreds of people thronged the corridors at Cop26 on Monday, trying to make it into an event in one of the Scottish Event Campus’s drab plenary rooms. Passing by, I asked a man in the crowd what all the commotion was for. He responded with one word: “Obama.” The former president still maintains his rock star-ish appeal. His speech proved the biggest draw of the conference so far. But what should we make of it in the cold light of day?

Much of his message was directed at young people, whom he praised as both “sophisticated consumers” and the source of the “most important energy in this movement”. He was clear: it’s up to all of us – but especially young people – to come together and keep the planet from warming beyond 1.5C. “Collectively and individually we are still falling short” he said, in the kind of grand, sweeping tones that built his career. “We have not done nearly enough to address this crisis. We are going to have to do more. Whether that happens or not to a large degree is going to depend on you.”

The Cop26 presidency has published a draft version of the final text – follow the latest reaction here

One crucial inclusion in the draft text relates to the acceleration of the ratchet mechanism.

Here’s the relevant passage:

30. Recalls Article 4, paragraphs 3 and 11, of the Paris Agreement, and urges Parties to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their nationally determined contributions, as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022;

Net zero is popular among polluters for good reason – it’s toothless compared to emissions restrictions and a carbon tax

“Make no mistake, the money is here, if the world wants to use it,” said Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor who today serves as UN climate envoy, while also representing an alliance of financiers sitting on a pile of $130tn worth of assets. So, what does the world want? If only humanity had the power to organise a global poll based on one-human-one-vote, such a species-wide referendum would undoubtedly deliver a clear answer: “Do whatever it takes to stop emitting carbon now!” Instead, we have a decision-making process culminating in the colossal fiasco currently unfolding in Glasgow.

The failure of Cop26 reflects our failed democracies on both sides of the Atlantic. President Biden arrived in Glasgow as his people back in Washington were pushing his infrastructure bill through Congress – an exercise that decoupled the bill from any serious investment in renewables and funded an array of carbon-emitting infrastructure such as expanded roads and airports. Meanwhile in the European Union, the rhetoric may be painted in bright green, but the reality is dark brown – with even Germany looking forward to copious amounts of Russian natural gas in exchange of green-lighting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The EU should be creating a pan-European Renewable Energy Union, but alas our leaders are not even debating this idea.

Ending unsustainable commercial exploitation of the Earth’s ‘blue heart’ is as vital as curbing fossil fuel use, says pioneering biologist

World leaders gathered for Cop26 must ban industrial fishing on the high seas to have a chance of preserving the ocean, the Earth’s “largest carbon-capturing and oxygen-generating system”, the deep-sea explorer and oceanographer Sylvia Earle has said.

Earle, 86, has clocked up more than 7,000 hours underwater and holds several records, including in 1979 for the deepest untethered dive by a woman.

Exclusive: Greta Thunberg among young people filing legal suit for climate crisis to be declared a global level 3 emergency

Greta Thunberg and youth climate activists from around the world are filing a legal petition to the UN secretary-general urging him to declare a “system-wide climate emergency”.

As Cop26 enters its final days, climate campaigners were due to file a legal document on Wednesday calling on António Guterres to use emergency powers to match the level of response adopted for the coronavirus pandemic by pronouncing the climate crisis a global level 3 emergency – the UN’s highest category.

The dwindling flow of the Euphrates River combined with Turkey’s occupation of Alouk water station has disrupted access to water for 460,000 people

• Photographs by Daniela Sala
• World’s ‘calamitous’ water crisis being ignored in climate talks – WaterAid

Interconnectors – linking areas rich in hydro, wind or solar power – can help to even out fluctuations in weather

When the weather is calm, wind turbines stop turning. That’s obvious, but as the UK increasingly relies on wind power generation, so an energy crunch looms if the wind doesn’t blow.

One way to smooth out the vagaries of weather for renewable energy supplies is a European super powergrid. These so-called interconnectors across national borders are already here. On 1 October, a 720km (450-mile) undersea power cable went live between the UK and Norway, the world’s longest subsea interconnector. This allows Norway to export surplus hydropower to the UK, but if water levels drop in the Norwegian hydro reservoirs during dry weather, the shortfall could be supplemented by wind generation from the UK. An even longer interconnector is proposed between the UK and Iceland, tapping into Iceland’s huge supply of renewable hydro and geothermal energy. North Africa could also be plugged in – there is an ambitious proposal to link the UK to a projected giant solar scheme in Morocco.

With the climate of northern Europe rich in wind, and southern areas with plenty of sunshine, sharing a range of renewable energies across borders helps to even out fluctuations in weather, making power supplies more secure as well as clean.

Xie Zhenhua claims country has concrete plans rather than ‘paying lip service’ to commitments

China has detailed and concrete plans on how to meet its climate commitments, and is pushing those plans forward vigorously, unlike some countries that are “paying lip service” to their climate targets, the head of delegation for China at the Cop26 climate talks has said.

Xie Zhenhua, China’s veteran chief official, said: “President Xi [Jinping] announced recently on many multilateral occasions China’s specific targets and concrete policies, measures and actions. We have a policy framework to ensure that we can achieve our climate target.”

Pandering to the rich has got us into this mess. The correlation between wealth and polluting behaviour could not be clearer

Most of our dysfunctions are caused by pandering to the rich. The way governments have allowed democracy to be eroded by lobbyists (including politicians with lucrative private interests); the deregulation that lets corporations, oligarchs and landlords squeeze their workers and tenants, then dump their costs on society; the permissive environment for profiteering during the pandemic; the degradation of health, education and other public services by the constant drive towards privatisation: all these are symptoms of the same condition.

The same applies to the worst of our predicaments: the destruction of our life-support systems. The very rich arrogate to themselves the lion’s share of the planetary space on which we all depend. It is hard to understand why we tolerate this attack on our common interests.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

Co-author Prof Jacek Jasieniak says city’s CBD could be a photovoltaic ‘powerhouse’

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Central Melbourne has the potential to generate three-quarters of its electricity needs from solar power, according to new modelling.

By integrating more solar panels into roofs, walls and windows, the City of Melbourne could generate 2,354 gigawatt hours of energy a year – equivalent to 74% of its current electricity consumption, the Monash University research suggests.

Matt Kean urges the Coalition government to ‘go a lot further’ to help drive EV uptake

• Sarah Martin: In a galling pivot, Scott Morrison hopes he can peek under the bonnet of an EV and be accepted as a convert
• What is the Morrison government’s electric cars policy – and will it actually drive take-up?
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The New South Wales treasurer, Matt Kean, has taken a swipe at the Morrison government’s new electric vehicle policy, as he unveiled additional funding that sees his state’s investment dwarf the federal commitment.

On Wednesday, the day after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, unveiled $178m in new funding for a future fuels fund to build charging stations across Australia, Kean announced an additional $105m to boost uptake of EVs among fleet operators in NSW.

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There is a way the Coalition can claim its climate policy is all about technology not taxes and still show it is serious about net zero

Supporters of fossil fuels in Australia’s media and political classes have been gleefully echoing Greta Thunberg’s claims that the Glasgow climate summit has been a failure. Yet both European and American politicians have been busily working on other plans to discipline climate change bludgers. These involve measures such as taxing carbon intensive goods imported from countries without equivalent emission control policies, and also choking off finance to high-polluting industries.

The Morrison government’s recently released long-term emissions reduction plan claims that it will protect us from such actions, stating the plan will “ensure Australian exporters are not targeted by trade action, and Australian businesses do not face cost of capital premiums”. While Scott Morrison might be able to fool voters, there is little chance the US and European governments will fail to notice this is a plan to freeload off their hard work.

In a decision made by Trump’s interior secretary days before leaving office, critical land for the northern spotted owl would have been logged

In a victory for the northern spotted owl, the Biden administration has struck down a Trump-era plan that would have removed more than 3.4m acres of critical habitat for the imperiled bird and opened the old-growth forests where it lives to logging.

The population of the small chocolate brown owl, which lives in forested areas in Washington, Oregon, and northern California, has been in decline for decades and has already lost roughly 70% of its habitat. Its numbers have plummeted 77% in Washington state, 68% in Oregon, and close to half in California, according to studies by the US Geological Survey, and biologists fear that further habitat reduction would put them on the path to extinction.

Speaking on stage alongside the puppet 'Little Amal’, leaders and campaigners have said the climate crisis cannot be ended without the empowerment of women. Indigenous women and politicians including Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, demanded increased investment.

The 3.5-metre puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee started her journey in Turkey on 27 July and has travelled nearly 5,000 miles across Greece, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France, symbolising millions of displaced children

• ‘World designed by men has destroyed many things,’ Cop26 warned

Dominic Raab defended ex-attorney general for working from Caribbean in lockdown – but do Tories really see the problem?

Geoffrey Cox: (reaching for the phone) Yes?

Dominic Raab: Thank God I’ve managed to track you down.

The true Australian Way would be to harness clean transport technology to lower costs, improve the air we breathe and create new jobs, all while supporting net zero emissions

The Morrison government on Tuesday announced its future fuels and vehicles strategy. Overall it’s a missed opportunity.

Electric vehicles should not be seen as an environmental issue. The transition to electric vehicles is a major economic opportunity for Australia – if we can get coherent and strategic national policy to capitalise on the benefits of this transformative change.