The COP26 Summit got underway this week, with world leaders and representatives from nearly 200 countries expected to participate in the largest international summit the UK has ever hosted.
While the focus of COP26 is global, Northern Ireland will be showcasing how good work can be carried out at regional level to take action on climate change.
Last week, ahead of COP26, the NI Executive launched an eight week consultation on the draft Green Growth Strategy.
Organisations from across Northern Ireland will take part in COP26. Participants include: Wright Bus, Translink, the Armagh Planetarium, Artemis Technologies, South West College, Danske Bank, Northern Ireland Environment Link, NILGA, Belfast City Council, and Derry City and Strabane District Council.
On 11 November the Northern Ireland Executive will take to the global stage at a joint event with Scotland and Wales. The Cities and Regions and Built Environment day will showcase the importance of sub-national action in tackling climate change. This will be an opportunity to highlight the development of the NI Executive Green Growth Strategy and the NI Energy Strategy.
To coincide with COP26 there are a wide range of events taking place in NI, including the two week long ReACT Festival in Belfast, the Smart Energy Conference, which took place on 2 November, and an Adaptation and Resilience Day series of events between local councils on 8 November. For more information about local events visit https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/cop26
Meanwhile in Brussels, colleagues in the Executive Office are getting involved by ‘making a pledge for nature’, which encourages each of us to make a commitment and adopt one small change in our daily lives and help to ease the pressures on nature and contribute towards tackling Climate Change. It is hoped each pledge will become part of our routines and a permanent change to our habits. Follow us on Twitter to see what changes we are making.
