Enlightened by COP26 – Ten Things You Can Do To Help Protect Earth – This week it’s hard to miss the #COP26 Glasgow summit wherever you are in the world.

The COP26 conference brings over 120 leaders together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

COP26 launches two weeks of global negotiations to help determine whether humanity can drive forward the urgent action needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.

As the world experiences record temperatures and extreme weather pushing the planet dangerously close to climate catastrophe, the need for urgent action has never been clearer.

Sir David Attenborough’s powerful speech to Help Protect Earth at COP26

Addressing leaders at the first major global gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic, COP President Alok Sharma said: “The science is clear that the window of time we have to keep the goal of 1.5℃ alive, and to avoid the worst effects of climate change, is closing fast. But with political will and commitment, we can, and must, deliver an outcome in Glasgow the world can be proud of.”

COP26 brings the major emitting countries face-to-face with the country’s most vulnerable to climate change. The World Leaders Summit will send a clear signal to negotiators to be as ambitious as possible and agree to a negotiated outcome that accelerates action this decade.

Pacific Climate Change leader Brianna Fruean woke up the world with the strength of her words at #COP26

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a funding package, as part of the UK’s Clean Green Initiative, to support the rollout of sustainable infrastructure and revolutionary green technology in developing countries.

UK COP26 Package (part of the UK’s Clean Green Initiative) – Help Protect Earth includes:

• A package of guarantees to the World Bank and the African Development Bank to provide £2.2bn ($3bn) for investments in climate-related projects in India, supporting India’s target to achieve 450 GW of renewable energy installed capacity by 2030, and across Africa.
• The UK’s development finance institution, CDC, will commit to delivering more than £3bn of climate financing for green growth over the next five years. This will include £200m for a new Climate Innovation Facility to support the scale-up of technologies that will help communities deal with the impacts of climate change. This is double the amount of climate finance CDC invested in its previous strategy period from 2017-2021.
• The FCDO-backed Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) will also commit more than £210m in new investment to back transformational green projects in developing countries such as Vietnam, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Nepal and Chad.

2021 is the year we should all play our part in reducing carbon emissions.

The Queen’s speech at the COP26 Reception ‘Do it For Our Children’ – A speech by Her Majesty The Queen delivered via video message to the COP26 Evening Reception, Monday 1 November 2021

The world needs to secure global net-zero by 2050 and halve emissions by 2030 to keep 1.5 degrees of warming in reach.

To do this the UK COP26 Presidency is calling on countries to set ambitious 2030 emissions reduction targets:

• consign coal power to history
• accelerate the move to clean electric vehicles
• end deforestation
• finance the green transition and help the most vulnerable countries

So how can you help protect Earth…

10 Things to Help Protect the Earth

• Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Cut down on what you throw away. Follow the three “R’s” to conserve natural resources and landfill space.
• Volunteer. Volunteer for cleanups in your community. You can get involved in protecting your watershed, too.
• Educate. When you further your own education, you can help others understand the importance and value of our natural resources.
• Conserve water. The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that eventually end up in the ocean (13 ways to save water).
• Choose sustainable. Learn how to make smart seafood choices at fishwatch.gov.
• Shop wisely. Buy less plastic and bring a reusable shopping bag (shop on Amazon).
• Use long-lasting light bulbs. Energy-efficient light bulbs reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also flip the light switch off when you leave the room!
• Plant a tree (or donate). Trees provide food and oxygen. They help save energy, clean the air, and help combat climate change. Offset your carbon.
• Don’t send chemicals into our waterways. Choose non-toxic chemicals in the home and office.