Tuesday 23 February 2021
‘COP26 is a watershed moment to a put a human-intrinsic shift into the mainstream’
"COP26 is a watershed moment to a put a human-intrinsic shift into the mainstream", said Angela Wilkinson, Secretary-General at the World Energy Council, who spoke at the opening of IP Week this morning.
International Petroleum (IP) Week began today, with speakers from across the world collaborating on the environmental issues the world will face in the coming decades and the steps needed to tackle them.
This year’s event was held virtually, with COP26 and the COVID-19 recovery two of the stand-out points.
In relation to the recovery from the pandemic, James Grabert, Director of Mitigation at the UNFCCC, said: “The covid recovery needs to be a green recovery and aligned with the Paris Agreement. Everyone needs to own this problem and Paris lays out that this is all of society’s responsibility.”
Minister Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy, Qi Wang, reaffirmed the importance of COP26, stating: “This year is a very important year for China-UK relations. They are important partners in the climate change response. Both will host COP15 and COP26, building a shared future for all life on earth.”
The global effort and response to these issues was clear with Mr Wang adding: “China has made vigorous efforts to implement the Paris Agreement. China’s carbon emissions have dropped by 48.1% from 2005. China will achieve carbon-neutrality by 2060.
“China is the largest developing country and this task is not easy. Meeting these targets will require a tremendous effort from China but it must step forward, take action and get the job done.”
The event will run from 23-25th February.
