UKESM at COP26

Jeremy Walton1, Catherine Hardacre1 and Lee de Mora2

1 Met Office, 2 PML

The 2021 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties, more commonly known as COP26, was held in Glasgow from 31 October to 13 November 2021.  Previous conferences in this yearly series included COP3 which adopted the Kyoto Protocol for greenhouse gas emissions reductions in 1997, and COP21, at which the Paris Agreement was negotiated.  That agreement – which entered into force in 2016 – aims to keep the rise in global mean surface air temperature to below 2 °C, (compared to pre-industrial levels).  COP26 was the first conference since COP21 which expected parties to make enhanced commitments towards mitigating climate change.  COP26 attracted worldwide attention for this and other reasons.

UKESM was invited to participate in a number of activities related to COP26, which included a presence in the COP26 Green Zone (see Figure 1).  This was the part of the conference which was open to the public, and was housed in the Glasgow Science Centre (Figure 2).  The Green Zone featured over 200 events and 100 exhibitors, including the COP26 Universities Network and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).  We were on the COP26 Universities Network stand on 8 November, and on the UKRI stand on 9 November.

Jeremy, Catherine and Lee from the UKESM core group welcome you to the COP26 Green Zone

Figure 1: Jeremy, Catherine and Lee from the UKESM core group welcome you to the COP26 Green Zone

The COP26 Green Zone was housed in the Glasgow Science Centre on 1-12 November.

Figure 2: The COP26 Green Zone was housed in the Glasgow Science Centre on 1-12 November.

Our preparations for the event included the development of storyboard movies: video-shorts explaining our work on Earth system modelling using UKESM1 and the implications of our results for projected future changes in global temperatures and other climate variables.  The storyboards included brief presentations focussed on specific areas such as air quality or the Greenland ice sheet.  In addition, we overhauled the UKESM Climate Change quizzes (one of which was aimed at adults, and the other at children) which proved useful for engaging with visitors to the stand after they’d stopped to look at the storyboards.

The storyboards (which can be found on the UKESM YouTube channel) and quizzes formed the centrepiece of our exhibit on the COP26 Universities Network stand (Figures 3 & 4).  The stand was located on the first floor, at a pinch point which led most of the passers-by to stop and look at our display.  We had good conversations with visitors on a wide variety of climate-related topics, ranging from the effect of climate change on avian malaria to plastic in the oceans.  Given the large range of backgrounds and interests of the attendees, there was a reasonable level of general interest in our work on Earth system modelling.

Figure 3. Catherine and Lee at the UKESM exhibit on the COP26 Universities Network stand on 8 November, during a (rare) lull in visits to the stand. The screen at the back is showing the Greenland ice sheet storyboard, whist the laptop in the foreground is set up for the UKESM Climate Change quiz. There were no prizes for taking part in the quiz, although Catherine offered participants a squirt of hand-sanitizer (front and centre on the table).

Figure 3.  Catherine and Lee at the UKESM exhibit on the COP26 Universities Network stand on 8 November, during a (rare) lull in visits to the stand.  The screen at the back is showing the Greenland ice sheet storyboard, whist the laptop in the foreground is set up for the UKESM Climate Change quiz. There were no prizes for taking part in the quiz, although Catherine offered participants a squirt of hand-sanitizer (front and centre on the table).

Figure 4. A visitor to the UKESM exhibit on the COP26 Universities Network stand looks at a visualization of four paths for future climate, whilst Lee looks at the camera.

Figure 4.  A visitor to the UKESM exhibit on the COP26 Universities Network stand looks at a visualization of four paths for future climate, whilst Lee looks at the camera.

The UKRI stand (see Figure 5) was a larger installation on the ground floor, very close to the entrance of the Green Zone.  Its main focus was a large illuminated display of the Warming Stripes (designed by Prof Ed Hawkins, University of Reading), a powerful image of global temperature change since the industrial revolution.  Other staff on the stand on the day we were attending included those from UKRI, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA).  The stand had a number of high-profile visitors, including the Chief Executive of UKRI and the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS); we were able to talk to both of them about our modelling work (see here for an article about the UKRI stand which features a photo of one of us standing next to the Permanent Secretary).  

Figure 5. Catherine talks with Clegg Bamber from UKRI on the UKRI stand on 9 November. The UKRI stand was built around a set of illuminated smart glazing panels which showed the Warming Stripes, a compelling illustration of global temperature change.

Figure 5.  Catherine talks with Clegg Bamber from UKRI on the UKRI stand on 9 November.  The UKRI stand was built around a set of illuminated smart glazing panels which showed the Warming Stripes, a compelling illustration of global temperature change.

Another aspect of our presence at COP26 was our contribution to the COP26 Universities Network’s Images of Climate Innovation exhibition.  This is a showcase illustrating the creativity of UK researchers who are developing new ways to reduce greenhouse emissions, adapt life to the changing climate and help the world to better understand the nature of climate change and its impacts.  Besides having an online presence (see below), the exhibition was on display during COP26 at the University of Strathclyde’s Ramshorn Theatre.

We contributed the image “Four possible climates in 2100” (see Figure 6) which displays four possibilities for temperatures at the Earth’s surface in 2100, as calculated by UKESM1 using four scenarios for future greenhouse gas emissions.  It shows that warming increases as emissions levels rise, and is not distributed evenly around the world (specifically, there is a marked amplification of surface warming in the Arctic).

Figure 6. A visitor to the COP26 Universities Network’s Images of Climate Innovation exhibition at the Ramshorn Theatre looks at our image “Four possible climates in 2100”. This shows four possibilities for temperatures at the Earth's surface in 2100, as calculated by UKESM1 using four scenarios for future greenhouse gas emissions.

Figure 6.  A visitor to the COP26 Universities Network’s Images of Climate Innovation exhibition at the Ramshorn Theatre looks at our image “Four possible climates in 2100”.  This shows four possibilities for temperatures at the Earth’s surface in 2100, as calculated by UKESM1 using four scenarios for future greenhouse gas emissions.

Studies such as this show that, although it is convenient to focus (as the Paris Agreement does) on changes in mean global temperature, the magnitude of the variation in temperature change across the surface of the Earth means that local effects should not be forgotten.

Each of us was attending COP for the first time.  Notwithstanding some logistical challenges in preparing for – and travelling to – the event, we found the experience to be a positive one.  One of us (Lee) was also an Observer in the Blue Zone – which was housed in the Scottish Events Campus across the river Clyde from the Green Zone – and so had a much broader COP26 experience, which has been captured in his video log.  Some of our colleagues also contributed to an UKRI video about Earth system modelling and observations, which was featured on the UKRI stand, and we also appeared in both parts of UKRI’s video exploring what researchers wanted from COP26.

The quality of the exhibits, presentations, films and other events we saw at COP26 was very high, and provided a strong stimulus to our conversations about climate change understanding, impacts and action which have continued since our return from Glasgow.

UKESM’s full range of activities is captured at COP26 – UKESM

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