COP26 is the word on everyone’s lips, but what is it and why has it got the whole world talking?

For more than a quarter of a century the United Nations (UN) have been bringing together most of the earth’s countries for global climate summits, also known as Conference of the Parties (COPs). The annual event brings together almost two-hundred world leaders to discuss the world’s commitment to climate change. This year marks the twenty-sixth year and therefore giving it the name COP26.

When and where is it?

Historically members of COP have offered to host the event and this year, the UK are hosting the event, alongside our partner Italy, right here in Glasgow.

The summit will take place at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) from Sunday 31 October to Friday 12 November 2021.

Why is this year’s conference so important?

Since the very first COP summit took place in 1995, the subject of climate change has become a growing concern, from being an issue of fairly low importance to a global emergency.

A crucial moment for this change happened at COP21 in 2015 when The Paris Agreement was formed. The Paris Agreement was the first ever legally binding commitment to mitigate global warming.

The agreement meant that every single country, irrespective of their size, agreed to reducing carbon emissions to drop the global temperature increase to less than 2 degrees Celsius – with an aim to try and reduce this even further to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The agreement also presented a financial commitment to ensure that funds were made available to help deliver the aims set out.

Also, as part of the agreement, every five-years each country is required to update their plans setting out how they intend to reduce their emissions and how much by. These are known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s).

The NDC’s that were set out in Paris unfortunately did not meet the 2 degrees set out in the agreement, and the window for achieving the target is closing. Therefore, this COP is crucial as countries must provide stronger plans to be in with a chance of achieving the target.

What is myenergi doing to support COP26, and the UK, in their contribution to climate change?

At myenergi we recognise that the targets set at COP are important, but what is crucial is the action taken to achieve those targets and that is why we are a headline partner of the Fully Charged #stopburningstuff manifesto in 2021’s COP26.

The manifesto specifically focuses on the solutions to climate change, the biggest threat humanity has ever faced, and our products are a key part of the solution.

Our products allow users to utilise their surplus green energy, ultimately reducing reliance on the grid, and providing users with energy independence.

As we move towards the electrification of vehicles, providing zero emission transport also brings about the challenge of reducing extra strain on the grid. Our eco-smart EV charger zappi has the ability to charge through 100% self-generated green energy and off grid. With many intelligent features the zappi gives users complete control of their electric car charging experience, such as the ability to utilise time of use and economy tariffs, allowing users to schedule chargers at times when energy tariffs are at their lowest, thus encouraging energy consciousness.

But the electrification is just one step towards decarbonisation. The notion towards implementing eco-smart technology in new homes as standard will provide another way in which we can remove the need for burning coal, and thus reduce strain on the grid. That is why we have created eddi. eddi is a micro-generation energy diverter which provides a brain to any solar PV and renewable home set up. Rather than filtering surplus energy back to the grid, eddi allows users to maximise the use of their surplus green energy by diverting it elsewhere within the home.

With all this new technology, integrating them into your current home/ property set up can seem daunting and costly. We have created integrated wireless technologies such as harvi and hub making it very easy for installers by reducing difficult cable routing, making for quicker and easier installations.

This seamless control and monitoring eco-system between all myenergi smart home products, combined with the potential return on investment benefits is totally unique in the marketplace.

How can you get involved?

 Whilst COP26 itself is a closed event, there is plenty that you can do to get involved. The event has two zones known as ‘The Blue Zone’ and ‘The Green Zone’.

The Blue Zone is a UN-managed zone, closed to the public, at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) this is where the negotiations will take place.

The Green Zone is a public zone, held at the Glasgow Science Centre which will be hosting events, exhibitions, cultural performances, workshops and talks from people all over the world.  Over the course of COP there will be amazing opportunities to listen, learn and start the discission on climate action.

You view the full itinerary list and book tickets to visit the Green Zone here.

Follow us at COP

Ahead of COP, this Friday (29 October) we will be joined by the Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) as they make a pit stop at our UK HQ, in North East Lincolnshire, on their drive to Glasgow for COP. Read more about the event here.

The Green Team will be heading up to Glasgow to spark climate action conversations, make sure to keep an eye out on our social media accounts to keep up with the latest.