Thread by @MartynMcL

Another punt, and thread, about my exclusive report in today’s @TheScotsman on vast carbon footprint of the #COP26 summit, which is projected to pump around 102,500 tonnes of CO2e into the atmosphere 👇 scotsman.com/news/environme…

The scale of the projected emissions is another level to those seen in previous COPs. In Madrid in 2019, the total was 51,000 tCO2e. In Paris in 2015, it was 43,000 tCO2e, and in Copenhagen in 2009, it was 26,000 tCO2e.

The importance and complexity of the negotiations mean it’s vital to have folk in the rooms, instead of holding virtual meetings, but at a time when the issue of sustainability is at the top of the news agenda, #COP26 and the UK, which is hosting it, is hardly leading the way.

Arup, the private firm paid by the UK Government to devise a carbon management plan for the summit (at a cost to taxpayers of £260k+) estimates that international aviation will account for around 60 per cent of the 102,500 tCO2e emissions.

The scenes of private jets arriving en masse in Glasgow, and even flying between Glasgow/Edinburgh/Prestwick airports, has rightly angered environmental campaigners, and undermined the summit’s credentials.

The fact that the prime minister, after his first stint at #COP26, rushed back to London on a private jet to attend a function at a men’s only private-members club did not particularly help those optics or public messaging.

But Qs around the sustainability of #COP26 are not new. I’ve been looking into it for months. The other elephant(s) in the room(s) are the venues themselves. I reported back in September about their poor energy efficiency standards: scotsman.com/news/politics/…

Then there is the issue of the corporate greenwashing at play with the summit’s sponsors, who are paying millions to stage peripheral events and enjoy extensive brand exposure. I wrote this about Reckitt, one of the #COP26 ‘partners', way back in April: scotsman.com/news/politics/…

And in a notably ironic twist, I found out in September that Arup, the firm commissioned by the UK Govt as the #COP26 sustainability consultant, has, er, extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry: scotsman.com/news/politics/…

Is it possible to run a carbon neutral event of this size without recourse to offsets? Of course not. It’s be naive to suggest otherwise. But has the UK Govt done enough to lead by example, convince delegates to travel sustainability, and ensure its sponsors are on brand?