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The UK is hosting a summit, COP26, that is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Countries signed up the Paris agreement in 2015 and agreed to make changes to keep global warming below 2C compared to pre-industrial levels, and to aim for 1.5C.

The main architect of the Paris climate agreement, Christiana Figueres, explains why the COP26 conference is so important. She says that this is the first time governments have been able to share the work they've done to halve their emissions by 2030 and that she expects many will bring new plans to the table for the ambition to reach net zero by 2050.

She says that by "the end of this COP, we have to be way beyond our Paris agreement commitments and well on our way to 1.5". Despite the fact that current commitments will not achieve that, "we have to continue on our pathway of increasing ambition, of increasing our emission reduction capacity, until we get to net zero by 2050."

Photo: A display at the COP26 conference showing a graphic of Earth and branches Credit: Getty Images

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