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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-413313" width="798" height="449" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /><figcaption>Representation of Ethereum cryptocurrency is seen in this illustration photo taken in Sulkowice, Poland on August 12, 2021. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Cryptocurrencies are starting the week on a positive note.



Ether, the world’s second-largest digital coin, surged more than 4% in 24 hours Monday to hit a new all-time high above $4,700. The token was last trading at a price of $4,740, according to Coin Metrics data.



Ether is the cryptocurrency of the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">Ethereum</a> blockchain. In the crypto market, the terms ether and ethereum are often interchangeable.



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a>, meanwhile, climbed 7% to a price of $66,250, inching back toward a record high above $66,900 set in late October.



The reason for the move wasn’t clear. Cryptocurrencies are known for their volatile price swings, with moves of up to 20% higher or lower relatively common.



Mikkel Morch, executive director at crypto hedge fund&nbsp;ARK36, said a $70,000 price for bitcoin now “seems imminent.”



“Importantly, the uptick doesn’t seem to be leverage-driven but rather results from the increased demand on the spot market where there’s currently very little sell-side liquidity,” Morch said in an emailed note Monday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-defi"><a></a>DeFi</h2>



It comes amid growing excitement about DeFi, or decentralized finance, a new trend in the crypto market which seeks to build financial applications like lending and trading on the blockchain.



Ethereum is a key player in DeFi. Some of the biggest DeFi services, including decentralized exchange Uniswap and lending platform Aave, run on the Ethereum network.



Still, DeFi has caught the attention of regulators lately, and experts have warned a crackdown is imminent.



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Ethereum is also the backbone for many nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which are like digital receipts that keep a record of ownership for rare items like online art.



They have seen a boom in activity this year, with one token auctioned at Christie’s selling for a record $69 million.



Still, ethereum is up against some fierce competition. Rival tokens like solana and cardano have surged in price this year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Ethereum 2.0</h2>



Ethereum is undergoing a major upgrade which investors hope will make the network faster and more environmentally friendly.



Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been criticized for their swelling consumption of energy.



The latest step in Ethereum network’s overhaul arrived late last month, when an upgrade called Altair went live.



Meanwhile, bitcoin jumped to a new all-time high of nearly $67,000 last month, following the listing of the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund.



Crypto bulls praised the move as another sign of growing acceptance for digital assets on Wall Street.



Alternative digital currencies often rally after significant climbs in bitcoin’s price, as investors search for returns elsewhere in the market.

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-413284" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Pfizer said Friday that its easy-to-administer Covid-19 pill, used in combination with a widely used HIV drug, cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk adults who’ve been exposed to the virus.



It’s now the second antiviral pill behind Merck’s to demonstrate strong effectiveness for treating Covid at the first sign of illness. If cleared by regulators, it would likely be a game changer in the ongoing global pandemic fight.



Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC the company plans to submit its data to the Food and Drug Administration before Thanksgiving.



“I think this medicine will change the way things are happening right now that will save millions and millions of lives, it has the potential to do it,” Bourla said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He said the company has “the capacity right now of 500 million pills,” which he said translates to 50 million treatments. “The very high efficacy comes even to us as a surprise, exceeds our most visionary expectations we had for that.”



The company’s shares jumped by about 8% in morning trading.



Pfizer’s pill, scientifically known as PF-07321332, is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme the virus needs to replicate in human cells. Protease inhibitors are used to treat other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C.



The HIV drug helps slow the metabolism, or breakdown, of Pfizer’s pill in order for it to remain active in the body for longer periods of time at higher concentrations, the company said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-pfizer-s-ceo-says-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-after-six-months">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/pfizers-ceo-says-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-after-six-months/">Pfizer’s CEO says COVID vaccine effectiveness drops to 84% after six months</a></h3>



The company said its data on the drug is based on a mid-to-late stage study of 1,219 adults who had at least one underlying medical condition and a laboratory-confirmed infection within a five-day period. Participants were also given a low dose of ritonavir, a medication commonly used in combination treatments for HIV.



Pfizer said there were six hospitalizations and zero deaths out of the 607 trial participants who received the pill in combination with the HIV drug within five days of symptom onset. That compares with 41 hospitalizations and 10 deaths out of the 612 people who received a placebo.



“These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.



Unlike Gilead Sciences’ intravenous drug remdesivir, Pfizer’s and Merck’s drugs can be taken by mouth. While vaccinations remain the best form of protection against the virus, health experts hope pills like these will keep the disease from progressing in those who do get infected and prevent trips to the hospital.



Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said Oct. 1 that they’ve developed a drug that, when administered alone, reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by around 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases of Covid.



The antiviral pill made by Merck was approved by Britain’s medicines regulator on Thursday.



June Raine, chief executive of the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said that Merck’s pill will greatly facilitate the treatment of Covid, a disease that has killed more than 5 million people globally and caused tremendous strain on health systems.



Bourla told CNBC in April that Pfizer’s pill could be available to Americans by the end of this year.



CNBC’s Rich Mendez contributed to this article.

106848079-16147199552021-03-02t211201z_528892790_rc293m9mucv5_rtrmadp_0_usa-business

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="396" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106970716-1636032940146-gettyimages-1236248272-cf101620.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-413249" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106970716-1636032940146-gettyimages-1236248272-cf101620.jpeg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106970716-1636032940146-gettyimages-1236248272-cf101620-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106970716-1636032940146-gettyimages-1236248272-cf101620-135x90.jpeg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — There is reason for cautious optimism when it comes to negotiations at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland, according to the United Nations’ climate chief.



The pivotal conference, which the U.K. is hosting between Oct. 31 and Nov. 12, has seen a number of high-profile announcements in its first week.



India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, while over 100 world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, China’s Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, have committed to end deforestation by 2030.



In addition, 28 more countries joined an international alliance dedicated to phasing out coal, although notable absentees included China, India and the United States.



In an interview with CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on Thursday, Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, was asked how she viewed the progress made at Glasgow and if it was enough.



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“I feel really encouraged by what … we have seen so far,” she said. “Of course, we’re coming to this conference with the clear message that the numbers we have in terms of emissions are not good,” she added. “So that means that we really must come out of here with clarity on how we are going to move forward.”



Espinosa was speaking after COP26′s “Finance Day” on Wednesday. Among other things, U.K. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans for the country to become the “first-ever net zero aligned financial center.”



Elsewhere, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero said more than $130 trillion of private capital had been “committed to transforming the economy for net zero.”



“What we have seen here,” Espinosa said, “these 120 heads of state and government … the Finance Day with ministers, heads of international financial institutions, people from [the] private sector also making pledges, announcing initiatives, I think there is &#8230; really a reason to be, to be hopeful &#8230; cautiously optimistic.”



A huge amount is riding on COP26. The U.K.’s official website for the summit states it will “bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.”



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Described by the United Nations as a legally-binding international treaty on climate change, the Paris Agreement aims to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.”



The challenge is huge, and the United Nations has noted that 1.5 degrees Celsius is considered to be “the upper limit” when it comes to avoiding the worst consequences from climate change.



In her interview with CNBC, Espinosa highlighted the ramifications of inaction. A report from the IPCC, she said, had shown that “the scenario of two degrees is &#8230; terrible, is catastrophic.”  



“And the prime minister of Barbados said it in the plenary, she said: ‘For us, 2 degrees is a death sentence’,” Espinosa added. “So that means that this is really not good enough and we need to be very frank and open about it.” “Not to make people more pessimistic, but I hope on the contrary, to make people more energetic in really taking seriously the very difficult decisions that need to be made.”



—Chloe Taylor, Lucy Handley and Sam Meredith contributed to this report &nbsp;

106970716-1636032940146-gettyimages-1236248272-cf101620

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413217" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/23303354605_de71f8c365_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Brookings hosts &#8220;Are there structural issues in the U.S. bond markets?&#8221; Monday, August 3, 2015 in Washington. Addresses by Governor Jerome Powell and Counselor Antonio Weiss focus on the Treasury bond market , with panelists Douglas Elliott, Martin Baily, Dennis Kelleher, Kashif Riaz, Annette Nazareth, and Steve Zamsky. (Sharon Farmer/sfphotoworks)</figcaption></figure>



The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it soon will begin reducing the pace of its monthly bond purchases, the first step toward pulling back on the massive amount of help it had been providing markets and the economy.



Tapering of bond purchases will start “later this month,” the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said in its post-meeting statement. The process will see reductions of $15 billion each month &#8212; $10 billion in Treasurys and $5 billion in mortgage-backed securities – from the current $120 billion a month that the Fed is buying.



The committee said the move came “in light of the substantial further progress the economy has made toward the Committee’s goals since last December.”



The statement, approved unanimously, stressed that the Fed is not on a preset course and will make adjustments to the process if necessary. (How tapering works)



“The Committee judges that similar reductions in the pace of net asset purchases will likely be appropriate each month, but it is prepared to adjust the pace of purchases if warranted by changes in the economic outlook,” the committee said.



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The move was in line with market expectations following a series of Fed signals that it would begin winding down a program that accelerated in March 2020 as a response to the Covid pandemic.



Markets reacted positively, with stocks turning positive and government bond yields inching higher.



Along with the move to taper, the Fed also altered its view on inflation only slightly, acknowledging that price increases have been more rapid and enduring than central bankers had forecast but still not backing off use of the controversial word “transitory.”



“Inflation is elevated, largely reflecting factors that are expected to be transitory,” the statement said. “Supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy have contributed to sizable price increases in some sectors.”



Many market participants had expected the Fed to drop the transitory language in light of the persistent inflation gains.



“The Fed unveiled its QE taper today, as widely expected, but is still insisting that the surge in inflation is ‘largely’ transitory, which suggests the doves still have the upper hand,” wrote Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.



Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects inflation to keep rising as supply issues continue and then start to pull back around the middle of 2022.



“Our baseline expectation is that supply chain bottlenecks and shortages will persist well into next year and elevated inflation as well,” he said. “As the pandemic supplies, supply chain bottlenecks will abate and growth will move up and as that happens inflation will decline from today’s elevated levels.”



The statement also noted that the economy is expected to continue improving, particularly after the supply chain issues are resolved.



“Progress on vaccinations and an easing of supply constraints are expected to support continued gains in economic activity and employment as well as a reduction in inflation,” the committee said.



The FOMC voted not to raise interest rates from their anchor near zero, a move also expected by the market.



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The tie between interest rates and tapering is a vital one, and the statement stressed that investors should not view the reduction in purchases as a signal that rate hikes are imminent.



“We don’t think it’s time yet to raise interest rates,” Powell said. “There is still ground to cover” before the Fed reaches its economic goals. He added he wants to see the labor market “heal further, and we have very good reasons to think that will happen as the delta variant declines, which it’s doing now.”



On the current schedule, the reduction in bond purchases will conclude around July 2022. Officials have said they don’t envision rate hikes beginning until tapering is finished, and projections released in September indicate one increase at most coming next year.



Markets, though, have been more aggressive in pricing, at one point indicating as many as three increases next year. That sentiment has cooled off some in recent days as Wall Street anticipated a more dovish Fed as it tries to balance slowing growth and rising inflation.



Inflation has been running at a 30-year high, pushed by a clogged supply chain, high consumer demand and rising wages that have stemmed from a chronic labor shortage. Fed officials maintain that inflation eventually will drift back to their 2% target, but now say that could take longer.

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World leaders are under huge pressure to outline how they plan to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change at one of the most important diplomatic summits in history.



The major climate event,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/the-road-to-cop26/">known as COP26</a>, will take place in Glasgow, Scotland from Sunday through to Nov. 12. It was initially scheduled to be held last year but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.



Diplomats and world leaders have sought to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/uk-pm-johnson-cop26-outcome-is-balance-2021-10-27/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">downplay expectations</a>&nbsp;of success in the run-up to the summit, although&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LfeLF7hOkecQDdD9FKYu_Y00LVzeiTX6/view" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a position paper</a>&nbsp;of more than 100 developing countries representing more than half of the world has insisted there can be “no more excuses for unfulfilled promises.”



To have any chance of capping global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the aspirational goal of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/13/paris-climate-agreement-all-you-need-to-know.html">2015 Paris Agreement</a>, the world needs to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions in the next 8 years and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.



Climate scientists have repeatedly stressed that the best weapon to tackle rising global temperatures is to cut greenhouse gas emissions —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/09/ipcc-report-un-climate-report-delivers-starkest-warning-yet.html">fast</a>.



Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and one of the world’s most influential Earth scientists, told CNBC that he believes the success of COP26 will come down to negotiations on five make-or-break issues.



These are mitigation, climate finance, carbon pricing, nature solutions and the phasing out of fossil fuels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mitigation"><a></a>Mitigation</h2>



“We must, at a minimum, have 195 countries aligning with science in their plans — not even delivering, but just in their plans — and that requires net zero targets by 2050 at the latest,” Rockstrom said.



“We only have a small number of countries that have done that so far,” he added, noting that countries such as Indonesia, Russia and Brazil were all yet to publicly declare net-zero targets by the middle of the century.



A U.N. report&nbsp;<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1104012" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published earlier this week</a>&nbsp;found new and updated Nationally Determined Contributions put the world on track for a dangerous global temperature rise of at least 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century — even if plans were fully met.



NDCs are the efforts of each country to reduce national emissions. At present, the U.N. says updated NDCs would only lead to an additional 7.5% reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions compared to previous commitments.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/106967581-1635497924269-gettyimages-1236179743-63368575.jpeg?v=1635498023&amp;w=929&amp;h=523" alt="Climate activists &quot;set fire&quot; to George Square, Glasgow, with an art installation of faux flames, smoke, and banners, and giant fire extinguishers, creating a field of climate fire to welcome world leaders to Glasgow for the Cop26 conference."/><figcaption>Climate activists “set fire” to George Square, Glasgow, with an art installation of faux flames, smoke, and banners, and giant fire extinguishers, creating a field of climate fire to welcome world leaders to Glasgow for the Cop26 conference. Andrew Milligan | PA Images | Getty Images </figcaption></figure>



Farhana Yamin, a climate lawyer and advisor to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, told CNBC via telephone that COP26 must trigger a profound “justice reset” if it is to be considered a successful summit. “Success can only come from grasping hard truths, speaking honestly and recognizing the situation of vulnerable countries.”



It is not good enough, she added, for those at COP26 to continue talking about their optimism for the future when countries are nowhere close to meeting the demands of the climate emergency.



“Beating the drum and calling it optimism isn’t cutting the mustard with anybody. Optimism isn’t solving the lives of developing countries or vulnerable groups right now who are facing the consequences of failure,” Yamin said.



“It’s like a further insult. What is optimism for a country that is now facing complete devastation?”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Finance</h3>



High-income countries promised in 2009 to deliver $100 billion a year for five years from 2020 to help low-income countries pivot away from fossil fuels and protect against climate breakdown. This Paris Agreement target&nbsp;<a href="https://unfccc.int/news/un-climate-chief-urges-countries-to-deliver-on-usd-100-billion-pledge" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has still not been fulfilled</a>&nbsp;and is not expected to be met until at least 2023.



“In all honesty, this is really just small money,” Rockstrom said, noting the trillions of dollars in bailouts spent by global governments in an effort to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.



“We are talking about the trillions that are needed to have a full 100% transition of investments from fossil-fuel-based infrastructure to renewable infrastructure so that we can really see decisive change and direction. There must be a finance discussion.”



Climate finance is widely regarded as a critically important issue, particularly when it comes to repairing global trust.



“Success would be for countries to stop playing games with the issue of loss and damage and actually fund it,” Yamin said. “Stop pretending loss and damage isn’t happening and find a way to fund it.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Carbon pricing</h3>



To its proponents, carbon pricing is seen as an important way to incentivize emissions reductions and help low-carbon technologies compete with established, heavily polluting alternatives.



To its critics, however, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement risks&nbsp;<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and-a-how-article-6-carbon-markets-could-make-or-break-the-paris-agreement" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">undermining the ambition of the accord</a>&nbsp;at a time when there is overwhelming evidence of the need to go further and faster to avoid climate tipping points. This is because&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/markets-negotiations-under-the-paris-agreement_99d9e615-en;jsessionid=cDBkltfA0a_zAefv_EzqATa3.ip-10-240-5-69" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">some fear</a>&nbsp;carbon trading arrangements could allow countries to hit already-weak targets without cutting additional emissions.



“The third part which, whether we like it or not, has to be on the table is a price on carbon. That has to be discussed globally,” Rockstrom said.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/106867533-1618326244036-gettyimages-1230798297-AFP_8ZK6LP.jpeg?v=1634096170&amp;w=929&amp;h=523" alt="Electricity pylons are seen in front of the cooling towers of the coal-fired power station of German energy giant RWE in Weisweiler, western Germany, on January 26, 2021."/><figcaption>Electricity pylons are seen in front of the cooling towers of the coal-fired power station of German energy giant RWE in Weisweiler, western Germany, on January 26, 2021. Ina Fassbender | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



He argued that COP26 represented a “completely new situation” when it came to carbon pricing because, for the first time, Europe’s Emissions Trading System was “starting to bite” polluting industries.



The EU’s benchmark carbon price was last seen trading at around 60 euros per metric ton, having stood at around 20 euros before the coronavirus pandemic. The price rise has resulted in some coal-fired power plants being shut down, Rockstrom said. “I think we will start seeing carbon pricing spreading and so that has to be on the table at a global level,” he added.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Nature</h3>



“The fourth part and perhaps the most important one for Glasgow is to make this the first COP meeting that is really a nature COP,” Rockstrom said. “It has to be the climate negotiating moment where we recognize that the only way to land the Paris Agreement, I mean the only way, is to secure the carbon sinks in nature — on land and in oceans. There is no carbon budget remaining unless we secure those sinks.”



Carbon sinks are natural areas, such as oceans and forests, that absorb more carbon than they emit.



Rockstrom suggested pricing carbon in biomass, in soils and in all ecosystems should be taken into account in the coming weeks.



The U.K. COP26 presidency has&nbsp;<a href="https://ukcop26.org/nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recognized</a>&nbsp;the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss cannot be solved without addressing the other. Sustainable agriculture and land use and action on restoring forests and other critical ecosystems are set to be discussed in Scotland.



In an article&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2021-10/manifesto-justice-cop26-and-beyond" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published online</a>&nbsp;for London-based think tank Chatham House earlier this month, Yamin suggested that considering the rights of nature through legal tools&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/22/how-a-growing-movement-plans-to-put-ecocide-on-a-par-with-war-crimes.html">such as ecocide</a>, for example, and the taking the interests of future generations should be on the table in Glasgow.



Another area to be considered, Yamin said, would be for COP26 to consider creating a post for a “High-Level Champion” to speak up for the incorporation of justice, equality, diversity and inclusion issues. She argued a COP-appointed position such as this could help to challenge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/23/what-to-know-about-greenwashing-in-sustainable-investments.html">greenwashing</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Phasing out fossil fuels</h2>



Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/20/climate-fossil-fuel-use-dangerously-out-of-sync-with-global-targets.html">chief driver of the climate emergency</a>.



At COP26, Costa Rica and Denmark are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/20/oil-and-gas-inside-the-diplomatic-alliance-to-keep-fossil-fuels-in-the-ground.html">expected to formally launch</a>&nbsp;the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, the world’s first diplomatic alliance to manage the decline of oil and gas production.



It is coal, however, that is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel in terms of emissions and therefore the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/19/coal-prices-the-worlds-least-liked-commodity-sees-remarkable-rally.html">most important target for replacement</a>&nbsp;in the pivot to renewable alternatives.



A global <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/16/europes-energy-crisis-is-making-the-market-nervous-ahead-of-winter.html">energy supply crunch</a> this year has coincided with a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/business/energy-environment/china-coal-climate.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resurgence of coal production</a>, raising serious questions about the so-called “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/14/climate-global-fossil-fuel-use-accelerating-and-set-to-get-even-worse.html">energy transition</a>.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/106929568-1629274523645-gettyimages-1229039465-AUSTRALIA_COAL.jpeg?v=1634804627&amp;w=929&amp;h=523" alt="A freight train transports coal from the Gunnedah Coal Handling and Prepararation Plant, operated by Whitehaven Coal Ltd., in Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020."/><figcaption>A freight train transports coal from the Gunnedah Coal Handling and Prepararation Plant, operated by Whitehaven Coal Ltd., in Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. David Gray | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“We have to have a serious discussion on end-dates on fossil fuels use. An end date on coal and an end date on the internal combustion engine,” Rockstrom said.



“We’ve never had that moment arising in such a concrete way before. How do we create a way for the big emerging economies to seriously take on the challenge of phasing out coal in a way that allows a soft social landing? It is tremendously challenging but an absolute necessity.”



Research published in the scientific journal Nature on Sept. 9 found the vast majority of the world’s known fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground to have some hope of preventing the worst effects of climate change.

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