FROM November 1 to 12, Glasgow will be the venue for COP26.

World leaders will meet in order to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

COP stands for Conference of the Parties and this will be its 26th meeting. It will be attended by countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1994.

Two recent news items have increased the chances of success for the conference.

The first was when Chinese President Xi Jinping told the UN general assembly in September that China will reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and ensure its greenhouse gas emissions peak in the next decade.

The second was the election of Joe Biden as American President.

So we now have firm commitments from the two countries that emit the largest quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

There is a long way to go – setting a target is the easy bit – but now about 70 per cent of global emissions are covered by net zero targets.

Concern for the future of planet Earth used to look like a niche interest, for a few eco-enthusiasts. Now it has become mainstream.

Government, business, industry, and financial markets are changing their priorities. They need our encouragement.

Many years of research and development have given us much of the knowledge and new technology we need, to turn idealism into reality.

The future is green.

Progress depends on action from government, from business and industry, from farmers and landowners, and from consumers (that’s all of us).

Some of the actions we can take in support of COP26 (count-us-in.org) will be discussed in Green Focus in the weeks ahead.

HENRY HASLAM

Taunton Transition Town