COP26 Summit Live Updates: PM Modi bats for global solar power grid at COP26 summit

"Our ISRO will soon provide the world with a solar power calculator that can measure solar energy potential of any region across the globe," PM Modi said at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow. 

Speaking at a session in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said that Solar energy is totally clean and sustainable and offered a ‘One Sun, One World & One Grid’ solution to combating its availability during daytime and dependence on weather.

“Solar energy is totally clean and sustainable. Challenge is that this energy is only available during daytime and dependent on the weather. ‘One Sun, One World & One Grid’ is solution to this problem. Through a worldwide grid, clean energy can be transmitted to anywhere and anytime,” he said.

Speaking at the session on ‘Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment.’ https://t.co/4bvexwZswy

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2021

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the United States would lead by example when it comes to sharing green technology innovations.

"The United States will lead by example and share with the world our considerable powers of innovation," Biden was quoted as saying by Reuters. He also said that the US will help in halting natural forest loss. 

“The U.S will help the world deliver on our shared goal of halting natural forest loss and restoring at least an additional 200 million hectares of forests and other ecosystems by the year 2030.”

-@POTUS on his new plan to preserve global forests, announced today at @COP26. pic.twitter.com/EtnB8jSLb4

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 2, 2021

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tuesday said that PM Narendra Modi is among those who understand very well how to tackle climate change. Johnson had also welcomed PM Modi’s climate commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions and for half of India’s energy to come from renewables by 2030.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met his Nepalese and Israeli counterparts on the sidelines of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow. He also held talks with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed bilateral relations between the two nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on the sidelines of the climate summit here and discussed ways to further sustainable development and steps to mitigate climate change.

The meeting between Modi and the American business magnate, whose foundation is focusing on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, took place after the former launched the Initiative for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) for developing infrastructure of small island nations. Read the full report here.

Here are some visuals from Glasgow where the COP26 global climate conference is currently underway. 

The United States and several European countries plan to provide funds and expertise to help South Africa ditch coal and roll out more renewable energy.

German officials said South Africa will receive about $8.5 billion in loans and grants over five years to manage the country's transition away from coal-fired power plants, which are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

South Africa gets about 90% of its electricity from coal-fired plants. (AP)

Israel’s energy minister, who uses a wheelchair, was able to attend the global climate summit Tuesday, a day after police prevented her from reaching the venue.

Energy Minister Karine Elharrar arrived at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow alongside Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, using a blue ramp to enter the building, according to footage sent by Bennett’s office.

“Tomorrow the exact same thing will be here,” he said, gesturing toward the accessible entrance. “It’s very important, so is the message” it sends, he said. Full report here.

As the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, gets underway this week, many countries have vowed to do more to fight climate change. Yet those plans still fall short of what’s needed to avoid a dangerous rise in global temperatures.

Data from Climate Action Tracker reveals emissions pathways for the world’s 10 biggest polluters. They account for more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions. Read the full report here.

Governments and UN agencies meeting at COP26 in Glasgow formed a water and climate coalition on Tuesday to address growing hazards and shrinking reserves. Led by the presidents of Tajikistan and Hungary, the coalition will seek to implement reforms that the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization says are needed in the global management of water resources. (Reuters)

As world leaders have gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for the COP26 climate summit, US President Joe Biden is going viral for an “embarrassing” reason: ‘dozing off’. Surrounded by many diplomats and delegates, the 78-year-old was caught on camera, with his eyes closed for a few seconds at the global warming conference. While it was not clear whether he really dozed off or took a brief moment to rest, it started doing rounds on the internet and left netizens divided online. Read the full report here.

In September, nine philanthropic organisations pledged a $5 billion over the next 10 years to support the monitoring and conservation of land, inland water and sea. The organisations made an effort to “protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 to prevent mass extinctions and bolster resilience to climate change.” Jeff Bezos's Bezos Earth Fund had pledged $1 billion towards this. 

Today, he announced an additional $2 billion to restore nature. 'We need to conserve what we still have, restore what we have lost and grow what we need to live without degrading the planet for future generstion,' he said.

ud83dudce2 NEWS: At COP26, over 100 leaders have committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.

"To have any chance of keeping below 1.5°C of global warming, we must halt deforestation" -- Sir David Attenborough

Learn more:
ud83dudc49 https://t.co/KEQU6kbnaS#COP26 pic.twitter.com/uTSR63qw7L

— COP26 (@COP26) November 2, 2021

US President Joe Biden announced a new plan to conserve global forests, restore carbon sinks and improve land management.

He said that US will help the world restore 200 milion hectares of lost forests by 2030. He added that his government will deploy 9 billion dollars to conserve and restore global forests.

The President said that he would work with local and Indigenous people to make sure that the new approaches are effective and focussed on vulnerable populations. "Let's get to work. We can do this. This will have a generational impact," added President Biden. 

Twenty three countries have come together for a COP26 initiative to protect the world’s forests through responsible and sustainable trade. Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that the country would join UK in co-chairing Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue.

Nearly 90 countries have joined a US- and EU-led effort to slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, a pact aimed at tackling one of the main causes of climate change, a senior Biden administration official said. The partnership will be formally launched later on Tuesday. Read more here.

More than 100 global leaders late on Monday pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade, underpinned by $19 billion in public and private funds to invest in protecting and restoring forests.The joint statement at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow was backed by the leaders of countries including Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which collectively account for 85% of the world’s forests. Click here to read more

According to the World Resources Institute, India’s total greenhouse gas emissions were about 3.3 billion tonnes in 2018. It’s projected to rise above 4 billion tonnes per year by 2030.

That would mean between now and 2030, India could be emitting anywhere between 35 to 40 billion tonnes at the current rates of growth. Cutting 1 billion tonnes would, therefore, represent a reduction of 2.5 to 3 per cent in its absolute emissions in the business-as-usual scenario in the next nine years. Read more here.

Infusing new energy in a climate process desperately waiting for more ambitious actions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Monday that India would make a one billion-tonne reduction in projected emissions from now until 2030. Read more here.

India’s Panchamrut that will power our fight against climate change. pic.twitter.com/H6kV7IlCd4

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 2, 2021

Addressing the COP26 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said that India will achieve its net-zero target by 2070. He also said that India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and also meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030. Watch his full address:

"India constitutes 17 per cent of the global population and India's contribution to the emission has only been 5 per cent. But today, the entire world admits that India is the only major economy which has delivered on Paris agreements in letter and spirit," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while delivering the national statement at the #COP26 World Leaders' Summit in Glasgow.

Addressing the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Modi said: 

*India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030

*India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030

*India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030

*India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy to less than 45 per cent by 2030

*India will achieve the target of Net-Zero by 2070

"When I came to Paris for the first time for the Climate Summit, I had no intention to add my own promise to other promises across the world. I had come with concern for humanity, as a representative of a culture that gave message of 'Sarve Sukhinah Bhavantu'," Prime Minister Modi said while delivering the National Statement at the Summit in Glasgow.

When I came to Paris for the first time for the Climate Summit, I had no intention to add my own promise to other promises across the world. I had come with concern for humanity, as a repr of culture that gave message of Sarve Sukhinah Bhavantu: PM at #COP26 World Leaders' Summit pic.twitter.com/FylSK29x2y

— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently addressing the COP-26 World Leaders' Summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

#WATCH LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses #COP26 World Leaders' Summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

(Source: DD) https://t.co/QDwHtHkM8A

— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his British counterpart Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit here and the two leaders discussed cooperation in areas like green hydrogen, renewables and clean technology, economy and defence.

This was the first in-person meeting between Modi and Johnson following the British Prime Minister’s twice cancelled visit to India earlier this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Read the full report here.

"The COP 26 Summit offers a wonderful opportunity to interact with various world leaders. In a short while, I will be delivering the National Statement at the Summit," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

The @COP26 Summit offers a wonderful opportunity to interact with various world leaders.

In a short while, I will be delivering the National Statement at the Summit. pic.twitter.com/25l4SqnHBH

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 1, 2021

Addressing the COP26 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there is a need to include climate change adaptation policies in the school syllabus to make the next generation aware of issues. "From sources of drinking water to affordable housing, all need to be made resilient against climate change," he added.

"We have to make adaptation the main part of our development policies and schemes. In India, schemes like 'Nal Se Jal', Clean India Mission & Ujjawala have not only given adoption benefits to our citizens but also improved their quality of life," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

Addressing the @COP26 Summit in Glasgow. https://t.co/Gca9quYv9b

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 1, 2021

Addressing the COP26 Summit, US President Joe Biden said that the US is not only back at the table, but leading by example. "We want to do more to help developing countries accelerate the clean energy transition," Biden told the gathering.

Addressing the COP26 Summit, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told rich world leaders on Monday they must fulfill both their own carbon emission cutting pledges and keep their promises to help developing countries de-carbonise. 

China's President Xi Jinping on Monday called on all parties to take stronger action to jointly tackle the climate challenge, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

In a written statement delivered at the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow, which Xi is not attending in person, the Chinese president also urged developed countries to not only do more but also support developing nations to do better on climate change, Xinhua said. (Reuters)

Addressing the COP26 Summit, US President Joe Biden said that climate change is destroying livelihoods every day. "We can keep 1.5C within reach if we come together and do our part as nations," Biden told the gathering.

Brazil's indigenous people said on Monday they would tell a UN climate conference that the world needs their expertise in protecting the Amazon rainforest to solve the global warming crisis.

The groups - who say they are facing increasing threats from loggers, miners and Brazil's own climate-skeptic government - told Reuters they had brought 40 envoys to the COP26 conference in Glasgow, their biggest ever international delegation.

"If there is no protection of indigenous territories and rights, there will also be no solution to the climate crisis, because we are part of that solution," Sonia Guajajara, head of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (ABIP), said. (Reuters)

Activists in costumes have posed as world leaders playing in a traditional Scottish bagpipe band on Monday as world leaders came together at the UN climate conference in Glasgow. The Oxfam campaigners wore kilts and said that world leaders need to come up with more action and not only “hot air” to tackle the climate crisis. (AP)

"Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: Either we stop it - or it stops us. It’s time to say: enough," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the opening of the World Leaders Summit at COP26.

"Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: Either we stop it - or it stops us. It’s time to say: enough."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the opening of the World Leaders Summit at #COP26.

Speech: https://t.co/ExHlJ7d2EC pic.twitter.com/ccT7T2fijY

— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) November 1, 2021

As Boris Johnson was speaking, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg retweeted an appeal for her millions of supporters to sign an open letter accusing leaders of betrayal.

"This is not a drill. It's code red for the Earth," it read. "Millions will suffer as our planet is devastated -- a terrifying future that will be created, or avoided, by the decisions you make. You have the power to decide."

“Betrayal.
That's how young people around the world are describing our governments' failure to cut carbon emissions. And it's no surprise.”

Almost one million signatures now! Sign here:https://t.co/MJTQHx4FH0

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) November 1, 2021

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has opened a global climate summit, saying the world is strapped to a “doomsday device.”

Johnson likened the Earth’s position to that of fictional secret agent James Bond — strapped to a bomb that will destroy the planet and trying to work out how to defuse it.

He told leaders Monday that “we are in roughly the same position” — only now the “ticking doomsday device” is real and not fiction. (AP)

Visuals from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

Scores of world leaders are being welcomed to Glasgow for a climate conference amid gloom over the meeting's chances of agreeing to new measures to limit global warming. According to the Associated Press, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed leaders one by one with fist bumps and smiles Monday morning in front of a giant planet Earth on a blue background. 

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during arrivals at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 1, 2021. (Reuters)

World Leaders are invited to the Opening Ceremony, hosted by the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, welcoming them to the World Leaders Summit of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Watch the live feed: 

Chile's energy minister and Canada's environment minister are among signatories to a letter calling for COP26 negotiators to put a true price on carbon emissions, a group overseen by the World Bank said on Monday.

The COP26 negotiations must mean more than "a worthy communique full of vague pledges", the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition said in the letter. 

"There will be very little chance for success in combating climate change if countries and companies do not collaborate with each other," Chilean Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet, who is also co-chair of the CPLC, said in a statement."The most cost-efficient way to do it is through carbon pricing."

Other signatories to the letter include Lord Barker of Battle, the executive chairman of En+, and Thomas-Olivier Leautier, chief economist at Electricite de France. Exxon Mobil Corp called last week for a transparent carbon price. (Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a recorded message  to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, the Kremlin said on Monday, but there are no arrangements for the leader of the world's no. 4 greenhouse gas emitter to address the summit live.

Russia announced on Oct. 20 that Putin would not attend in person. Moscow said at the time it would try to work out a way for Putin to speak by video conference, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday this would not be feasible.

'It is impossible to join (the meetings) in Glasgow through a video conference,' Peskov told reporters. 'Still, a conference on forestry and land use management will be held in Glasgow as part of the climate change summit, and the president has already recorded an address to the participants of that conference.' (Reuters)

The annual climate meetings have succeeded in galvanising the world into taking collective action against climate change, but they have not been able to prevent the crisis from worsening in the last two decades. The quantum of action that these series of meetings has enabled has always been well short of what, science says, is required to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Read more here.

The world must move from aspiration to action to limit rising global temperatures, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell world leaders at the COP26 climate summit.

“Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now,” Johnson will say in his address to the summit. “If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow.” Read more here.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled plans to attend the COP26 climate conference after Britain failed to meet Ankara's demands on security arrangements, two Turkish officials told Reuters on Monday.

Erdogan returned to Turkey from a G20 summit in Rome instead of travelling to the climate summit in Glasgow, the state-owned Anadolu agency said. 

The Turkish presidency gave no reason for his unscheduled return. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were protocol issues over the president's planned attendance at the meeting. Another Turkish official said British authorities had not met Turkey's requests over protocol and security. "The president took such a decision because our demands regarding the number of vehicles for security and some other security related demands were not fully met," the senior official told Reuters.

Erdogan said last week Turkey had signed a memorandum of understanding under which it will get loans worth $3.2 billion to help it meet clean energy goals set out in the Paris accord. (Reuters)

'As citizens across the planet, we urge you to face up to the climate emergency. Not next year. Not next month. Now,' Swedish activist Greta Thunberg tweeted, asking her millions of followers to sign an open letter accusing leaders of betrayal.

“As citizens across the planet, we urge you to face up to the climate emergency. Not next year. Not next month. Now”

Join me and activists all over the world and demand leaders to face the climate crisis at #COP26
So far more than 650k people have signed!https://t.co/MJTQHx4FH0

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) October 31, 2021

At the U.N. climate conference, expect one theme to drown out the cacophony of pledges from countries and companies around the world: money.

Climate finance refers to money that richer nations – responsible for the bulk of the greenhouse gas emissions heating the planet -give to poorer nations to help them cut their own emissions and adapt to the deadly storms, rising seas and droughts worsened by global warming. So far, the money hasn’t arrived. Read more here.

Developed nations have not only failed to meet the USD 100 billion goal per year of support to developing nations since 2009 but also continue to present it as the ceiling of their ambition all the way to 2025, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said at the international climate conference.

Yadav, who is representing India at the UN Climate Change Conference, made the statement on behalf of the BASIC group of countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - at the opening plenary session of the Conference of Parties (COP 26), which began on Sunday.

'In a context where developing countries, including BASIC countries, have massively stepped up their climate actions since 2009, it is unacceptable that there is still no matching ambition from developed countries on the enabling means of implementation on climate finance support,' he said. (PTI)

Delivered the BASIC statement at opening plenary of #COP26 underlining that developed nations have not only failed to meet the $100 billion goal per year of support to developing nations since 2009 but also continue to present it as ceiling of their ambition all the way to 2025. pic.twitter.com/B8aCHqeaCI

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) October 31, 2021

US President Joe Biden on Monday will try to assure world leaders that the United States can keep its promise to slash greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by the end of the decade, even as the key policies to ensure those reductions remain uncertain, his top climate aides said.

National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy said Biden was committed to delivering on that goal in large part through a key budget bill that would unleash $555 billion in climate spending that awaits a vote in Congress after months of fraught domestic negotiations.

'Here in Glasgow, he's renewing the United States’ commitment to take swift and decisive action, including through his Build Back Better framework,' McCarthy told reporters. 'It's the largest investment to combat the climate crisis in American history. And it's going to let us reduce emissions well over a gigaton — that's 1 billion metric tons — in 2030.' (Reuters)

The existential threat to humanity is climate change.

In a few days, I am headed to @COP26 in Glasgow to demonstrate a commitment to the world that we will get to a net-zero emissions economy no later than 2050.

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 25, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping will address the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow on Monday in the form of a written statement, according to an official schedule. Xi's statement will be uploaded to the official conference website. According to the list of speakers released by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Xi is the only leader to address the "First Part of the High-Level Segment for Heads of State and Government" in a written statement.

Xi, who has not left China since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, had not been expected attend the conference in person. In updated pledges, China confirmed to the United Nations last week that it would bring its emissions to a peak before 2030 and cut them to "net zero" by 2060. It also promised to raise total wind and solar power generation capacity to 1,200 gigawatts by 2030 in order to reach its goals. (Reuters)

An Indian event to launch a new initiative to make critical infrastructure in small island states resilient against disasters induced by climate change is expected to be one of the biggest sideshows at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch IRIS, or Infrastructure for Resilient Island States, in the presence of leaders from several countries. The new programme for the small island states is part of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), an Indian initiative announced by Modi at the UN General Assembly in 2019. Read more here.

To be launched at @COP26, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) will provide technical support on multifaceted issues posed by infrastructure systems & promote disaster & climate resilience of infrastructure assets in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). #COP26 pic.twitter.com/0nHx9Xrg3Z

— Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (@cdri_world) October 29, 2021