Finally, COP26 has begun -- and as we’ve said for the past two years, the world is watching! The Economist predicts the gathering in Glasgow will be “both crucial and disappointing,” while John Kerry, World War Zero co-founder and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, remains hopeful, and key players in Congress and the Biden Administration have aligned on the single largest climate investment in US history.
We, too, are hopeful and confident. In the wise words of Greta Thunberg, "If we choose to act together, there are no limits to what we can accomplish.” Her sentiments, along with those of other activists, were projected onto Tate Modern in London over the weekend -- an installation with a message that will travel to Glasgow this week.
Starting tomorrow, look forward to daily exclusive videos, debriefs, and more from Kyle Lemle who will be our eyes and ears on the ground at COP26. Normal coverage resumes on November 15th.
In other news, after some technical reengineering to our platforms Our Daily Planet’s email infrastructure fully merges with World War Zero (WW0) this week. From tomorrow on, your emails will arrive from a new address from WW0 (so, on the off chance you don’t see your daily email, check your spam folder). Things might look a little different on the surface, but this partnership is already making our work together more robust, informative, and wide-reaching.
Again, we thank you for your readership, your commitment to climate, and for standing with us during this crucial moment in the world’s history.
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 Climate Change
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Image: U.S. Embassy in France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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US Green Diplomat Previews Glasgow
By WW0 Staff
For the United States, the post-Trump, pre-COP26 road to Glasgow has been paved with ambition and humility. In a major speech, the President’s Envoy, John Kerry, previewed the results of his climate diplomacy before heading into two weeks of intense deliberations of world leaders.
Speaking at the London School of Economics — a nod to COP 26’s UK hosts, Kerry struck a tone of determined optimism. He argued that “Glasgow has already summoned more climate ambition than the world has ever seen.” He pointed to recent announcements from Japan, Indonesia, South Africa, Canada, and the United States as evidence that “nations representing nearly 65% of global GDP will arrive in Glasgow committed to the 1.5 limit — including more than half of the top 20 economies in the world.” He particularly emphasized areas of promise, from a Global Methane Pledge to private sector commitments and promising technology.
But Kerry leavened his optimism with measured sobriety: “Is all the world fully aligned with what science says we must do to avoid the worst of the climate crisis? In two words — not yet.”
Why This Matters
The US acknowledges it’s been the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the past, but today the country contributes only about 12% of emissions, and even that number is dropping. In April, the US committed to reducing emissions even further — to 50-52% of 2005 levels by 2030. More of the world needs to increase its emissions reductions targets and strengthen their commitments at COP26 in order to make the progress the world needs. That America’s top diplomat struck an optimistic note heading into Glasgow is important, but he also stressed difficult challenges ahead: “Some countries are still building new, carbon-polluting coal plants, and planning to break ground on more … At Glasgow, it will all be held up to scrutiny — with transparency and accountability.”
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 Politics
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Congressional Democrats & Biden Administration Move Towards Passing Largest Climate Investment in US History
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer
Late last week, President Biden and a critical mass of Democrats in the Senate and House agreed on the details of Build Back Better legislation — a $1.85 trillion overall investment that includes a record-setting $555 billion dollars to take on the climate crisis.
The agreement marked a huge step forward after weeks of negotiations, and represents the single largest climate investment in American history, with the majority sum of $320 billion going toward tax credits to incentivize the clean energy transition. This breakthrough is remarkable given the 50-50 Senate and a deciding vote from one coal-state Democrat (Manchin). More than half a trillion dollars for climate is more than five times the 2009 high-water mark for federal investment in the green economy. As John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff and co-founder of the Center for American Progress (CAP), said in a statement last week: “[This] framework isn’t going to solve climate change and environmental injusticeall by itself, but it is an agreement to stand together for the first time and fight for our future.”
The broader framework of the legislation outlines spending on key housing, educational, and health care priorities — issues that are all impacted by climate change.
Why This Matters
The current scale of climate change demands “big, bold” climate action. This plan, if it passes, is a large step toward changing the US energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable sources that won’t warm the planet or pollute the air. It’s the kind of policy backed by funding that’s necessary to reduce the carbon pumping into the atmosphere and warming the planet. Going into COP26, it creates leverage and momentum for US climate diplomacy on the global scale.
And it’s popular at home, too: public support for climate action by the President and Congress is on the rise, even among Republicans.
Keep reading...
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