The final agreement signed by 197 countries at the end of the United Nations COP26 global climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland, was considerably weaker on coal and other fossil fuels than many activists and countries wanted. But more than 40 nations did agree to reduce construction of new coal-fired power plants both domestically and internationally at the Oct. 31-Nov. 12 event, during which construction sector participants and other attendees produced and advocated for new climate change initiatives.

COP26总统Alok Sharma于11月12日释放了协议草案，该协议向反对更强有力的煤炭语言的国家做出了让步。它最初呼吁“逐步淘汰煤炭燃料和化石燃料的效率低下”。

但是，在正式会议之后的一天，印度和中国的最后一刻压力最终将其削弱了煤炭的“ Phastown”。

COP26 built on many decisions made at the 2015 Paris climate summit, at which 196 countries agreed to reduce CO emissions to prevent global temperatures from rising above 1.5° to 2°C. Countries that pledged at the Glasgow summit to phase out domestic and international building of new coal plants included Poland, Vietnam and Chile, but not the U.S., China or India until the wording revise was made.

But while countries agreed to accelerate emissions cut pledges next year to maintain global temperatures at the 1.5°C mark, said a Nov. 18 Standard & Poor'sanalysis, "the gap between what scientists believe to be a safe limit and the existing trajectory of global temperature remains significant."

Assessing Impacts

Observers say they are disappointed that more wasn’t accomplished at COP26, and that wealthier nations, including the U.S., did too little to support developing countries already struggling with climate change impacts.

西蒙·罗林森合伙人rcadis and member of the UK Construction Leadership Council, termed "shameful," attendees rejection of a fund to support those countries affected. "This short-term decision will do little to win hearts and minds of developing nations and shows that the liabilities of the developed world will only grow and grow," he said in a post-conference assessment for online British construction publicationBuildihg.

Nations did pledge to reduce methane emissions and to phase out sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. The U.S. did not sign that pact, but signatories include a number of U.S. states and many global cities, as well as Ford Motor Corp. and General Motors.

Rachel Cletus, a policy director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said individual nations’ pledges to reduce CO emissions “helped narrow the ambition gap somewhat but collectively still fell short.”

Where Were the Drivers?

In 2020, China, India, the U.S. and Japan accounted for more than 75% of coal capacity globally with China responsible for about 50% of that total, according to Effuah Alleyne, senior oil and gas analyst at Global Data. “While Vietnam, Indonesia and G7 members such as Canada, Germany, Italy and the UK are among those that pledge support [to eliminate new coal projects], they represent a minor driver for significant change,” he says.

一些分析师认为，拜登政府可能因美国立法者删​​除清洁能源绩效计划（CEPP）而受到阻碍，这是总统气候政策中的主要执法机制，从COP26前一个月的和解计划中。
国会谈判人员因参议员乔·曼钦（Joe Manchin）（D-W.Va。）的反对而从支出法案中删除了1500亿美元的计划。

即便如此，在过去的十年中，能源公司在很大程度上因市场力量而转移了煤炭项目。18luck官网2018年，Xcel Energy保证在2050年之前向碳中性电提供电力，而南方公司（Southern Co.净零能量混合。

"The global power industry is in a state of transformation and needs to accelerate the path to net zero as many companies, communities and stakeholders forge ahead with commitments to lower carbon emissions. The COP26 pledges are consistent with that movement," says Mario Azar, Black and Veatch power business president. The firm previously said it will exit the coal-based power market. "Tthe time horizon of this phase-out depends on a host of factors," he said.

In a Nov. 8 announcement, UK design firm Arup said it will not agree to work on any global fossil fuel or hydrocarbon related projects starting next April, as part of its net zero goal.

While not part of the main COP26 event, the U.K. Green Building Council released its Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, which provides a detailed analysis of specific emissions reductions that sectors of the built environment need to achieve annually to reach net zero by 2050. The analysis includes emissions data on the whole lifecycle of buildings, including embedded emissions of construction materials and products.

Regaining control over the climate crisis will require a change in the way cities are designed and built, British architectSir Norman Foster told COP26attendees representing municipalities, in a session with John Kerry, President Biden’s special climate envoy.

Foster said the global design sector is core to developing needed solutions: “Global warming is a design issue. We have the ability, we have the brains, we have the technology.”

Arcadis' Rawlinson acknowledged that "aligning the legitimate rights of most of the world’s population to a quality of life with challenging fossil fuel reduction targets was never going to be easy," adding that "the fair 'phasing down' of fossil fuel use will be the defining geo-political problem of the next 30 years."

But he noted, "measured against the key aim of 'keeping 1.5 alive,' the conference fell short of hope if not its limited ambition. Clearly the trajectory will need to accelerate, but who is going to jump first?"

Rawlinson was positive, however, on UK construction sector presentations on emissions cuts offered in conjunction with COP26, including what he termed "examples of pragmatic steps being taken to remove carbon from construction through choice of materials, wider adoption of manufacturing and a more mindful management of the vehicle fleet."