The climate conference marks 6 years since the Paris Agreement, wherein every country agreed to communicate or update their emissions reductions targets every five years to reflect their highest possible ambitions. COP26 should have been held in 2020, but like so much else, the pandemic forced it to delay for a year - a year in which it became increasingly apparent to almost everyone that the climate emergency is very much upon us already. The agenda for COP26 is ambitious: we must produce a strategy for emissions reductions that align with reaching global net zero by 2050.

Glasgow was chosen as the host city for this conference for several reasons: it places 4th in the world in the Global Destination Sustainability index; has set itself a net zero goal which is two decades closer than the global goal; and has a proven track record of hosting events on an international scale, such as the Commonwealth Games and the World Gymnastics Championships.

As cynical as it's easy to be about the governmental approach to climate change, it's heartening to see our home city undertaking their massive preparations for this event. There's been an enormous effort to make this a meaningful climate conference, with - hopefully - a positive outcome not just for the host city and those involved, but for the entire planet - because that is, of course, what’s at risk.

We’ve been involved with several projects relating to COP26, and we’ll share the details, decisions and design that went into all of them over the two weeks that the conference, for better or worse, is in town.