REPORTING FROM COP26: CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE COMMONWEALTH
REFLECTIONS ON THE COP26 GLOBE LEGISLATORS SUMMIT: CPA SECRETARY-GENERAL The GLOBE Legislators Summit was organised to coincide with Right: The CPA SecretaryCOP26 and was held in Edinburgh, kindly hosted by the Scottish General, Stephen Parliament and its Presiding Officer, Rt Hon. Alison Johnstone MSP. Twigg, met with the It was a pleasure to meet with the Presiding Officer just before she Presiding Officer of The opened the Summit and to see the strong cross-party commitment in Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Parliament to tackling climate change. CPA Scotland Branch When GLOBE first approached the CPA about the Summit, we President, Rt Hon. Alison were especially keen to ensure that the voices of our CPA Small Johnstone MSP before Branches and Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians would the GLOBE Legislators be heard in Edinburgh. The CPA delegation reflected this, and I Summit in Edinburgh would like to thank the three Commonwealth Parliamentarians in to discuss climate the CPA delegation for sparing the time in their busy schedules to change initiatives and be in Edinburgh where they each played an active and constructive ongoing parliamentary role at the Summit. They joined fellow legislators from across the strengthening support for Commonwealth as colleagues from other jurisdictions. the Scottish Parliament. The mood at the Summit was captured very powerfully by the Speaker of the People’s Majlis of the Maldives, Hon. Mohamed Nasheed. He is a former President of his country who, in 2009, held a cabinet meeting underwater in order to demonstrate the impact of climate change on low-lying islands. His eloquent message to the Summit was that the COP26 commitments provided real hope for progress but that it is vitally important that words are put into action. Small Island Developing States have played a vital role in pushing for urgent international action on climate change, biodiversity and the environment. Within the CPA, this has been reflected in the work of our CPA Small Branches network on sustainable development and climate change. The work of legislators will be crucial in the months and years ahead including: • Passing the necessary legislation to ensure that commitments made in Glasgow are delivered. • Holding their governments to account by overseeing and scrutinising the detailed plans to move to net zero including in the critical area of financing. • Engaging with citizens and civil society to ensure wide public support for, and participation in, the efforts to achieve net zero. One of the best sessions in Edinburgh was the one in which we heard from some members of Scotland’s Youth Parliament and Children’s Parliament. Their passion and understanding for this cause shone through and reminded everyone present that we have a shared obligation to the planet and its people both today and in the future. Agenda 2030 sets out ambitious goals and targets for sustainable development. By bringing together the two great causes of promoting sustainability and tackling poverty, the SDGs provide a roadmap for the decade ahead. I hope that commitments made at COP26 help deliver that roadmap. Right: In the margins of the GLOBE Legislators Summit in Edinburgh, the CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg, also met with Hon. Samuelu Teo, Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu, one of several CPA Small Branches attending the Summit.
Stephen Twigg is the CPA Secretary-General and a former Member of the UK Parliament.
394 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing
