Global and local resources

1. Climate Communication helps journalists gather reliable scientific information and identify experts to make climate change science available and comprehensible to the media and to the public.
2. The Australian Science Media Centre works to enhance the media’s coverage of science for the benefit of all Australians with evidence and experts when science hits the headline.
3. The Climate Communication Project is a collaboration between academics and practitioners to help catalyse public engagement with climate change.
4. Climate Communicators produces simple, long-term climate graphics for Australian weather presenters to build an understanding of the local implications of a global phenomenon.
5. Climate Visuals is a free resource of images that showcase climate solutions alongside the global impact of climate change to help move the visual narrative to climate justice, solutions and positive change.

The nutshell

1. COP26 explainer from the Climate Council
2. Expected news stories at COP26
3. Tips on how to cover COP26
4. Two-page summary of the IPCC report's main points
5. The climate crisis summed up in 5 minutes
   
   
   

The climate story in numbers

In the lead-up to COP26, 75% of Australians are concerned about climate change while seven in 10 think Australia should set emissions targets.

Most Australians want Australia to increase its ambitions on climate change policy. Seven in ten Australians (70%) say Australia should join other countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, to increase its commitments to address climate change.

With 1.2 million respondents, the Peoples' Climate Vote is the largest survey of public opinion on climate change ever conducted. It found that 64% of people believe that climate change is an “emergency” and must be addressed urgently, but just 10% believe world leaders are doing enough.

The survey — the largest of its kind — asked 10,000 young people in 10 countries how they felt about climate change and government responses to it. It found 59% of children and young people were 'very' or 'extremely' worried about climate change and that levels of anxiety were increased by a perception of government inaction in the face of escalating climate risks.

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference will take place in November 2021 in Glasgow.

Key COP26 goals

Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach

Countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century.

To deliver on these stretching targets, countries will need to:

• accelerate the phase-out of coal
• curtail deforestation

Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats

The climate is already changing and it will continue to change even as we reduce emissions, with devastating effects.

At COP26 countries need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to:

• protect and restore ecosystems
• build defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives

Mobilise finance

To deliver on the first two goals, developed countries must make good on their promise to mobilise at least US$100bn in climate finance per year by 2020.

International financial institutions must play their part and and work towards unleashing the trillions in private and public sector finance required to secure global net zero.

Work together to deliver

The world can only rise to the challenges of the climate crisis by working together.

At COP26 countries must:

• finalise the Paris Rulebook (the detailed rules that make the Paris Agreement operational)
• accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis through collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society