Climate summit 2021: 45 nations set to pledge to protect nature

Forty-five nations were scheduled to pledge to step up protection of nature and overhaul farming to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the British hosts of the COP26 UN climate summit said, as thousands of climate protesters around the globe joined Glasgow to protest against climate inaction by world leaders.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

At the halfway stage of the COP26 negotiations, some countries have upgraded their existing pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while there have been separate deals on phasing out coal, ending foreign fossil fuel funding, and slashing methane.

However with current pledges, the world is now on The path of 2.7C warming by 2100.

A statement from British government said 45 governments would "pledge urgent action and investment to protect nature and shift to more sustainable ways of farming".

Backers include major economies led by the United States, Japan and Germany and developing nations such as India, Indonesia, Morocco, Vietnam, Philippines, Gabon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uruguay.

The statement did not give the total amount of funding, but said the measures would include "leveraging over $4 billion of new public sector investment into agricultural innovation, including the development of climate-resilient crops and regenerative solutions to improve soil health".

Some environmental activists say Britain has shifted the way host countries of climate summits or COPs run the global gatherings.

Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace, said the UK media announcements often turned out to be exaggerations.

"We actually want to find things to celebrate here, but it's hard when there is a constant concern that everyone is getting played," she said in a statement.

The sentiment was shared by tens of thousands of young people around the world. Dozens of events took place yesterday worldwide to demand cuts in fossil fuel use and immediate help for communities already affected by climate change, particularly in poorer countries.

COP26 negotiations will pause today ahead of what is shaping up to be a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy, as ministers arrive to push through hard-fought compromises.

Countries still need to flesh out how pledges made in the Paris deal work in practice, including rules governing carbon markets, common reporting timeframes and transparency.