The dust has settled on COP26. Now the hard work begins

The dust has settled on COP26. Now the hard work begins

The COP26 climate summit, held in the Scottish city of Glasgow last year, made headlines around the world. After days of painstaking and at times fraught negotiations, countries agreed upon a deal which sought to build on 2015′s Paris Agreement and curb the worst effects of climate change. Things weren't all plain sailing, however. The Glasgow Climate Pact, as it's known, faced stumbling blocks related to the phasing out of coal, fossil fuel subsidies and financial support to low-income countries. India and China, both among the world's biggest burners of coal, insisted on a last-minute change of fossil fuel language in the pact — from a "phase out" of coal to a "phase down." After initial objections, opposing countries ultimately conceded. During a recent panel discussion chaired by CNBC's Steve Sedgwick, industry figures with experience of both policy and the corporate world reflected on the summit's outcome and how things could progress moving forward. "A lot more was expected, but what was delivered was really spectacular," Jos Delbeke, who is the former director-general for climate action at the European Commission, said. Delbeke, who also holds the position of European Investment Bank climate chair at the European University Institute, went on