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- Starting November 1, 2021, Scotland's capital city of Glasgow will host COP26.
- COP26 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will see world leaders convene on decisions set to shape the future of humanity.
- Glasgow itself is committed to becoming net-zero carbon by 2030, one of the most ambitious targets set by a European city.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
This November, Glasgow, Scotland, will host COP26, which is the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will see world leaders convene on decisions set to shape the future of humanity. But what is the city itself doing to tackle climate change?
With the world watching, Glasgow is aiming high. The city's climate commitments aim to surpass those of the rest of Scotland, who want to reach net-zero by 2045, as well as the United Kingdom's overall target of net-zero by 2050.
"Our aim is to become net-zero carbon by 2030, and our target is one of the most ambitious in Europe," explains a Glasgow City Council spokesperson, who adds "we've reduced our CO2 emissions by 41% since 2006, surpassing our 30% target."
Sustainability plans in action
Advocating for a "whole systems approach," Glasgow's council says current sustainability projects include decarbonizing the city's energy systems and formulating plans to supercharge education and behavior change of Glasgow's citizens, businesses, and wider stakeholders.
Following a recently commissioned Integrated Net Zero Scoping Study, the city plans to combine local energy, land use, and transport industries into the plans for change.
The city recently launched the Sustainable Glasgow Charter, which "enables businesses to make a public commitment towards achieving more sustainable outcomes, thus ensuring that the city is working together collaboratively."
In fact, much of the city's work thus far has been about getting local businesses on board.
Alison McRae, senior director of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, an independent organization promoting commerce across the city and wider region, explains how her organization works with partners Zero Waste Scotland and the council, to deliver their 'Circular Glasgow' initiative.
Five years in, the program helps businesses become future-proof and able to pivot in line with future sustainability policies through events and networking activities.
According to McRae, COP26 has sped up education schemes and business engagement programs that will "mold the minds of the future workforce by showing them how they can engage with businesses tackling climate change."
The city is also launching a carbon-neutral city district, starting with the implementation of a so-called 'Smart Street'. The street, located in an area with residential, academic, community, retail, and industrial buildings in central Glasgow, will integrate planned regeneration with smart city capabilities.
Put simply, this "includes the installation of a roof-mounted solar PV canopy, ducted wind turbines, energy arbitrage, power storage, EV charging, and smart grid controls," explains a city spokesperson.
Describing the street as a demonstration of what smart, sustainable energy systems might look like in Glasgow - and the rest of the world - in the future, the council says the street will tackle issues surrounding fuel poverty, aging infrastructure, and air pollution.
"We are also currently looking to retrofit the city's traditional sandstone tenements, which are notoriously difficult to heat," says the spokesperson. "There will be substantial investment needed to bring these buildings up to modern energy efficiency standards."
Still some way to go
The retrofitting plans mark one of the city's key stumbling blocks - getting enough money to support long-term goals. Both governmental and private funding will be crucial to reaching net-zero by 2030.
McRae says that making it easier for businesses to engage in the agenda will be essential to this. "We want to work with the government to achieve net-zero ambitions, but we want to do this whilst also ensuring our economy grows."
On the path to post-pandemic recovery, the commerce is "mindful of the need to minimize disruption of our city center," during COP26. They want to make sure that businesses can maximize the benefits of the summit both during the event and afterward.
While some projects are coming to fruition in Glasgow, many of the city's goals are still in the planning stage. "As a city, we will come up against many challenges as our 2030 target gets closer," explains the Glasgow City Council spokesperson.
"We need to ensure that the historic societal problems Glasgow has faced, such as high levels of fuel poverty, are tackled in line with the levels of investment. We need to ensure that we don't disproportionately impact the most vulnerable in our communities as we tackle the climate emergency."