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It is widely believed that there is academic literature addressing the United Nations Climate Summit, but there is no systematic review and analysis of research on COP26 and its objectives under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This article describes a qualitative meta-synthesis of research on COP26 that examines the extent to which evidence exists for changes in reducing greenhouse gases as a core objective of the UNFCCC. A systematic analysis and synthesis of various studies have shown that Article 6.2 (not lapsed) has undergone a significant change in relation to the core objective of the UNFCCC under the market-based approach. Several studies have found that Article 6.4 (lapsed) has hardly changed under a marketbased approach. The results for Article 6.8 under non-market-based approaches (lapsed) were similar, although COP26 did not have the opportunity to provide “Just Change Evidence”. The article concludes by identifying gaps in scientific research and suggesting additional scientific work to increase the availability of evidence for non-market approaches.

Conversations about climate change are crucially important for mobilizing climate action, as well as for processing emotions and finding meaning in times of crisis. However, limited guidance exists on how to successfully facilitate these discussions, especially among individuals with a wide range of beliefs, knowledge levels, and opinions about climate change. Here, we describe the Talk Climate Change project — an Oxford University student-led climate conversation campaign associated with the 2021 United Nations COP26 meeting. Over 1000 individuals across 40 countries held climate-related discussions. They then described their discussions in submissions to an interactive conversation map (www.talkclimatechange.org), along with messages to COP26. We reflect on the campaign’s outcomes and offer advice on overcoming barriers to effective climate dialogue; how to handle emotional responses; and other considerations for catalyzing meaningful and productive climate discussions. We call for a stronger focus on training conversational skills, providing context-specific discussion resources, and empowering diverse people to have conversations about climate change among their families, friends, coworkers, and communities.

Investigating the determinants of environmental sustainability has become a very attractive and popular area of research in response to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) and COP26 targets. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to explore the effects of renewable energy, technological innovation, and the insurance market on environmental sustainability in the United States (US). This work contributes to the extant body of knowledge by exploring the effect of the insurance market on the load capacity factor (LC), specifically regarding the US. The LC tracks a certain ecological threshold by simultaneously comparing biocapacity and ecological footprint (EF), thereby providing a comprehensive empirical analysis of ecological sustainability determinants. However, this proxy includes the combined attributes of the demand and supply sides of ecological sustainability. Using the recently developed autoregressive distributed lag method, this research reveals that the insurance market adversely affects the LC in the US. The overall outcomes highlight the positive role of renewable energy, technological innovation, and the insurance market in achieving the SDGs and COP26 targets. Policy recommendations for policymakers concerning promoting renewable energy, green innovation activities, the green insurance market, and ecological regulations are also discussed.

The urgency of addressing climate change is increasingly evident through the rise in devastating natural disasters and significant shifts in global temperatures. With the urbanization of rural landscapes to accommodate population growth, the built environment has emerged as a major contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately 40% of natural resource consumption and carbon emissions. In pursuit of tackling climate challenges, countries have united under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to develop strategies for climate action and adaptation, through the Conference of the Parties (COP). The UAE has been an active member of the COP and has been at the forefront of implementing decarbonization strategies. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the decarbonization recommendations presented during COP26 and COP27, specifically focusing on the built environment sector. The primary objective is to highlight how recommendations were effectively incorporated into the UAE’s built environment sector, employing a case study approach further highlighting the specific implementation strategies adopted in the G+2 SEE Institute building while demonstrating how COP26, COP27, and the UAE’s National Climate Change Plan 2017–2050 recommendations were translated into practical measures. The study places particular emphasis on the areas of energy, water and waste management, investigating how these strategies were integrated to promote decarbonization efforts. By examining the G+2 SEE Institute building case, this research attempts to provide valuable insights on aligning built environment practices with climate change mitigation objectives. The planning of the building structure employed a systems thinking approach, while assessments were conducted to identify materials and designs that would enable the building to achieve net-zero status. Real-time data analysis was employed for comprehensive analysis. The findings of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge on sustainable construction practices and serve as a guide for stakeholders, including developers, policymakers, and practitioners, in adopting effective strategies in reducing carbon emissions and fostering environmental sustainability in line with the Paris Agreement.

The motivation behind this research is to investigate the determinants of the ecological footprint in MENA countries and find appropriate solutions. We updated the STIRPAT model and applied sophisticated panel techniques to data from 1996 to 2020. According to the findings, economic expansion along with urbanization and tourism is to blame for these countries’ huge environmental footprints. In addition, when it comes to environmental degradation remedies, environmental innovation and the use of renewable energy play an important role in minimizing these environmental externalities. The results of post Saudi Vison 2030 analysis confirmed the significance of urban population and renewable energy in minimizing the environmental footprint. In light of the findings, it is advised that policymakers should revise the legislative framework to attract not only private sector investment, but also foreign investment to utilize the full potential of renewable energy generation.

The majority of signatories to The United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021 (COP26) made a declaration to end deforestation by 2030. Here, we quantify future changes in land use and associated CO 2 emissions to examine the impact of ending deforestation by 2030 on global land dynamics and emissions using an open-source land-use model. We show that if the COP26 declaration to end deforestation is fully implemented globally, about 167 Mha of deforestation could be avoided until 2050, compared to a baseline scenario which does not have extended forest protection. However, avoided deforestation and associated emissions come at the cost of strongly increased conversion of unprotected non-forested land to agricultural land, while land-use intensification in most regions is similar compared to a baseline scenario. Global initiatives are needed to facilitate a common dialogue on addressing the possible carbon emissions and non-forest leakage effects due to the expedited loss of non-forested land under a policy aimed at halting deforestation by 2030.

This paper reflects on leadership shown in Venda, Southern Africa to protect the lungs of the planet and draws out key themes on the way Indigenous wisdom — underpinned by a sense of the sacred and the profane – expressed in solidarity with nature - are vital for protecting forests. It explores indigenous wisdom on their kinship with organic and inorganic sacred totems (plants, animals and features of the landscape) which are protected through relationships that inform governance. The ongoing community of practice and related projects make a case for standing together to address climate change. The paper was developed as part of a University of South Africa project together with the named authors. Mphatheleni Makaulule has developed an a priori and a posteriori approach to Ecosystemic governance that resonates with the work of Wangari Maathai. Makaulule’s leadership in Venda that is discussed with fellow project members who are exploring how the agendas for COP 26 could be attained by fostering law informed by Bateson’s concept an “ecology of mind – which means an understanding of human beings’ place within living systems and our need for both education and laws to protect ecosystems such as forests (which are the lungs of the world) and the water systems (which are the life blood of all living systems). The governance approach in Venda emphasised the need to think in terms of our relationships with all living systems. The idea of extending a sense of solidarity to others is explored deeply with Makaulule and colleagues by considering similar approaches in other places, such as the Amazon where Makaulule spent time learning from shamanic leaders, Ghana (where Akwasi Achemfuor has undertaken research), Northern Territory and South Australia (where McIntyre was mentored by Peter Turner and Olive Veverbrants). The paper also refers to the work of Widianingsih based on an in-depth discussion on the Kasepuhan Ciptagelar community in West Java that has also been protecting the forests for more than 300 years. The authors explore whether attributing personhood to nature, could be regarded as limiting a notion of mystical and pragmatic recognition of interbeing or even a form of colonising the notion of interbeing? We suggest that a community of practice approach (Wenger, 1999, Wenger et al., 2009) to support learning organisations and communities could support two-way education to enable cross cultural, cross disciplinary and transnational learning to support steps towards wellbeing through sharing our understanding of interbeing in dialogue, it became clear that transcendence through totemism, dreams and shamanistic rituals support a sense of oneness with nature, relationality as well as a sense of awe, solidarity and responsibility for others which is being increasingly recognised in the arts and sciences.

Significance:• Critical climate change and health action needs to be considered globally post the COVID-19 pandemic. • The WHO Climate Change and Health Special Report outlines 10 priority recommendations to be considered by nations and adopted at COP26. • The special report provides South Africa with the opportunity to consider how the priority recommendations can be implemented locally.

Financial deepening is important in resource allocation for more productive enterprises, leading to sustainable green growth. Moreover, rapid development in the digital economy and export diversification significantly affect green growth. From this perspective, our study explores the impact of financial deepening, ICT development, and export diversification on green growth in China’s economies from 1996 to 2021. The study explores the linkage between financial deepening, ICT development, export diversification, and green growth by employing the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach. The results obtained in the long run are as follows: positive shock in financial deepening brings positive change in green growth, whereas negative shock in financial deepening reduces green growth. In the long run, positive shock in ICT enhances green growth, but negative shock in ICT does not impact green growth. Moreover, positive shock in export diversification brings positive change in green growth, whereas negative shock in export diversification reports an insignificant impact on green growth. Based on findings, it is suggested that financial deepening, ICT development, and export diversification are conducive to sustainable green growth.