Wineke Haagsma (Director Corporate Sustainability, PwC), on behalf of the PwC COP26 team

Every single day, climate change is influencing, threatening and costing lives and livelihoods all around the world, there is an ongoing and increasing reality of loss and damage with the rising temperature. 

At the COP26, one calls for further action, for sharpened and more aspiring ambitions, more ambitious NDCs and accelerating nature-based solutions.

Some of the major challenges discussed at the COP26 include the energy transition, carbon footprint, net-zero future, protection of communities and natural habitats, and provision of finance.

Multiple agreements and pledges are made by countries and companies: halting deforestation, cutting methane emissions, stopping finance for coal, oil and gas, phasing out coal and backing clean technology investments

The impact of the Covid-19 crisis and the climate crisis is hitting and will in the future hit hardest in developing countries. At the COP26 there was attention for this inequality. There is a deep concern that the 100 bn dollar target has not yet been met. Urgently, one needs to scale up finance flows to the levels needed to support developing countries in implementing

Youth participation and empowerment seem to get more attention at this COP. Great to see a larger group of young people, the generation which this is all about, at the table and present at COP26. Their input and ideas are valuable. Young people need to be confident that change is in their hands. 

One needs to move to implementation and delivery, providing information and policies. Collaboration, collective action and implementation are key in changing the story of climate change and transition to low-carbon economies. Multilateralism and international cooperation will be the required pathway to keep 1.5 alive and move toward the Paris Agreement. All in all, it's time to act

Global decarbonisation was only 2.5% in 2020. Achieving the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C and delivering net-zero requires more than a five times increase in the rate of global decarbonisation every year, and must start now.