politics

Greta Thunberg Joins Thousands in Glasgow to March for Climate Justice

Peter Summers | Getty Images

The coverage on this live blog is now over.

Talks continued in Glasgow, U.K., on Friday at the highly anticipated COP26 climate summit.

Delegates were asked to accelerate action on climate change and commit to more ambitious cuts in carbon emissions, all in an effort to limit global temperature rises.

Here are some of the biggest developments Friday:

  • Greta Thunberg takes part in climate march through Glasgow{

    9:37 Greta Thunberg takes part in climate march through Glasgow

    Thousands of protesters have come together to march for climate justice in Glasgow, the Scottish city playing host to COP26.

    Organized by Fridays for Future — a movement made famous by teenage activist Greta Thunberg — the march is the biggest protest to take place outside the summit so far. Thunberg is expected to speak at the event later.

    Some participants told the BBC on Friday that they were angry with world leaders for not taking enough action to limit global warming, with one saying: "We are choking."

    — Chloe Taylor

    =null}
  • Biden 'right to criticize' China over absence from COP26, U.S. Energy Secretary says{

    5:03 a.m.: Biden ‘right to criticize’ China over absence from COP26, U.S. Energy Secretary says

    U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said President Joe Biden's criticism of China for failing to show up at COP26 is fair.

    "Is it right to criticize? Yeah." she said in an interview with CNBC's Steve Sedgwick.

    China and Russia, two of the world's biggest polluters, did not send delegations to the summit, but their leaders did send messages to delegates in writing and via video.

    Granholm told CNBC: "We do believe that clean energy can be an area that all major countries agree upon. It is disappointing though that the biggest emitters are not committing to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution."

    — Chloe Taylor

    =null}
  • Wealthiest 1% must reduce carbon footprints by 97% within a decade, Oxfam says{

    4:56 a.m.: Wealthiest 1% must reduce carbon footprints by 97% within a decade, Oxfam says

    By 2030, the carbon footprints of the world's wealthiest 1% will be 30 times higher than what's needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new study has claimed.

    Published Friday, the Oxfam-commissioned study, carried out by the Institute for European Environmental Policy and the Stockholm Environment Institute, found that while the planet's wealthiest people are on track to increase their emissions, the poorest half of the global population will still emit far below the 1.5 degrees Celsius-aligned level in 2030.

    According to the research, a person in the richest 1% would need to reduce their emissions by around 97% from today's levels in order to be aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal.

    — Chloe Taylor

    =null}

12:45 p.m.: Greta Thunberg ends speech in Glasgow

Greta Thunberg has now left the stage. Click here for our full story on the speech.

And that ends our live blog for today. See you next week.

Thanks for following along.

— Matt Clinch

12:17 p.m.: 'Our leaders are not leading,' Thunberg tells Glasgow march

"Our leaders are not leading, this is what leadership looks like," Thunberg tells the crowds in Glasgow.

Directing her comments at the media, she says: "Time and time again, the media fails to hold people in power responsible."

— Matt Clinch

12:11 pm.: Greta Thunberg says COP has turned into a PR event

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg speaks at Festival Park as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.
Russell Cheyne | Reuters
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg speaks at Festival Park as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is speaking on stage after a strike organized by "Fridays For Future" saw thousands march 1.6 miles from Kelvingrove Park to George Park in Glasgow's city center.

She told the crowds: "We don't need any more distant non-binding promises ... they have had decades of blah blah blah and where has that left us?"

— Matt Clinch

11:50 a.m.: Kerry believes Paris rulebook can be completed in Glasgow

U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Climate Adviser John Kerry attend an event on action and solidarity at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Climate Adviser John Kerry attend an event on action and solidarity at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.

Speaking at COP26, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry said he believes it's possible that the rulebook set in Paris in 2015 can be completed in Glasgow.

According to Reuters, he also said he has spoken to Russia about possibly working together on reducing methane emissions.

— Matt Clinch

9:52 a.m.: ‘Change comes from the people’

Protesters marching for climate justice in Glasgow have spoken to CNBC about why they're participating.

Daniella, 31, told CNBC's Sam Meredith that she didn't believe what was happening at COP26 would save humanity or the planet. She said: "The power and the change comes from the people and that's why I'm here."

Meanwhile, Emma, 52, told CNBC she was protesting to support her daughter and her friends.
Thousands of people are currently marching from Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park to the city center, where Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is expected to address the crowd.

9:37 Greta Thunberg takes part in climate march through Glasgow

Thousands of protesters have come together to march for climate justice in Glasgow, the Scottish city playing host to COP26.

Organized by Fridays for Future — a movement made famous by teenage activist Greta Thunberg — the march is the biggest protest to take place outside the summit so far. Thunberg is expected to speak at the event later.

Some participants told the BBC on Friday that they were angry with world leaders for not taking enough action to limit global warming, with one saying: "We are choking."

— Chloe Taylor

9:08 a.m.: Consumer awareness forcing bosses to act on climate change, Swiss Re CEO says

Swiss Re CEO Christian Mumenthaler has told CNBC he feels "optimistic" at COP26 given the number of companies taking action to limit global warming.

9:01 a.m.: JPMorgan’s Umunna: Climate change knows no borders

Chuka Umunna, JPMorgan's managing director and head of EMEA ESG, has spoken to CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at COP26 about the role of the financial services sector in tackling climate change.

7:21 a.m.: Important everybody delivers on COP26 promises, Munich Re CEO says

Munich Re CEO Joachim Wenning has told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick that leading players need to commit to 5-year targets that are auditable.

7:19 a.m.: 2% of passive investments are in ESG products, Deutsche Boerse says

Stephan Leithner, member of the executive board at Deutsche Börse, told CNBC that greenwashing was not going away and that different parties had different expectations in the fight against climate change.

5:03 a.m.: Biden ‘right to criticize’ China over absence from COP26, U.S. Energy Secretary says

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said President Joe Biden's criticism of China for failing to show up at COP26 is fair.

"Is it right to criticize? Yeah." she said in an interview with CNBC's Steve Sedgwick.

China and Russia, two of the world's biggest polluters, did not send delegations to the summit, but their leaders did send messages to delegates in writing and via video.

Granholm told CNBC: "We do believe that clean energy can be an area that all major countries agree upon. It is disappointing though that the biggest emitters are not committing to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution."

— Chloe Taylor

6:45 a.m.: Biden administration committed to moving away from coal: U.S. Energy Secretary Granholm

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks to delegates at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Ian Forsyth | Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks to delegates at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has told CNBC that U.S. President Biden is committed to the green energy transition despite not joining an international pledge to phase out coal.

"We are committed to 100% clean electricity by 2035, net zero by 2050 and cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030," Granholm told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at COP26 on Friday. "The Biden administration believes we have to move away from fossil fuels and coal."

She added that the administration believed "building out clean" was a critical component of what Biden was asking Congress to pass when it came to reducing emissions.

"That means deploy, deploy, deploy the technologies we already have while we're in this transition, and those technologies include decarbonization of fossil fuels."

— Chloe Taylor

6:31 a.m.: Bezos Earth Fund to spend $500 million on renewable energy causes

Bezos Earth Fund President Andrew Steer and IKEA Foundation CEO Per Heggenes spoke to CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at the summit to discuss the role of philanthropy in the fight against climate change.

5:02 a.m.: What’s on the agenda for Friday?

Friday is Youth and Public Empowerment Day at COP26, and world leaders and businesses are set to stand aside and let young campaigners take the stage.

A march organized by the Fridays for Future movement, made famous by teenage activist Greta Thunberg, is set to take place later in the morning.

— Chloe Taylor

5:00 a.m.: Nuclear can play a bigger role in the green energy transition, IAEA says

Speaking to CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at COP26, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi discussed nuclear energy's potential in the transition toward green energy.

Watch the video below to hear more of what he had to say.

4:56 a.m.: Wealthiest 1% must reduce carbon footprints by 97% within a decade, Oxfam says

Oleg Ivanov | Getty Images

By 2030, the carbon footprints of the world's wealthiest 1% will be 30 times higher than what's needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new study has claimed.

Published Friday, the Oxfam-commissioned study, carried out by the Institute for European Environmental Policy and the Stockholm Environment Institute, found that while the planet's wealthiest people are on track to increase their emissions, the poorest half of the global population will still emit far below the 1.5 degrees Celsius-aligned level in 2030.

According to the research, a person in the richest 1% would need to reduce their emissions by around 97% from today's levels in order to be aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal.

— Chloe Taylor

4:19 a.m.: UK to overhaul climate education programs

The U.K. government has announced plans to introduce a new "world leading" curriculum in schools by 2023 to teach children about nature and climate change.

Biodiversity will be increased in schools through steps like installing bird feeders in the coming years, the Department for Education said on Friday.

A new Climate Award will also be launched for young people in the U.K. to recognize achievements in work to improve the environment.

— Chloe Taylor

3:04 a.m.: What happened at COP26 on Thursday?

Here's a summary of the biggest developments from the climate summit on Thursday:

U.K. lawmaker Alok Sharma, who is serving as COP President, told a press conference that around $18 billion had been pledged to assist with the transition from coal to clean energy. He claimed: "the end of coal is in sight."

Twenty-eight countries joined an international alliance dedicated to phasing out coal, but the world's biggest burners of the fossil fuel – China, the U.S. and India – were not among them.

Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, told CNBC there was reason to be "cautiously optimistic" about the commitments made so far at COP26.

The International Energy Agency said its models showed the world would be on a trajectory to limit global warming to 1.8 degrees Celsius if all the commitments made at COP26 were honored. Despite the IEA hailing its projection as "excellent," it would mean the Paris Agreement's key objective to keep temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius was missed.

Indonesian lawmakers claimed an agreement they signed on deforestation did not include a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. In a statement on Facebook, Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said "forcing Indonesia to zero deforestation in 2030 [is] obviously inappropriate and unfair."

— Chloe Taylor

Copyright CNBC
Contact Us