Find out about the IET’s involvement at COP26

During the two-week event, the IET will be represented with eight colleagues, members and volunteers attending on our behalf.

COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference which will see the UK as President.

The event welcomes world leaders alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and organisations for 12 days of talks.

Climate change is a significant long-term challenge for our planet. Finding a solution, is, without doubt, the most difficult and important engineering challenge of our time, one which the IET is determined to lead.

What have we achieved so far?

As part of our commitment to our Sustainability and Climate Change societal challenge, outlined in the IET Strategy 2030, the IET has been engaging with a variety of stakeholders and forming partnerships over the last year.

We have engaged with the Cabinet Office, COP Organising Committees and Chief Scientific Advisors over the last year to highlight the important role engineering skills play in the green economy.

The IET is a founding member of the Professional Bodies Climate Action Charter and the first results of the charter will be presented at COP26.

We have also partnered with London Climate Action Week and are a principal partner in the National Grid COP26 Youth Engineering conference which is a global virtual youth event focusing on green energy transition.

Sir Julian Young, IET President, said:

“Being part of the COP26 Conference is a tremendous opportunity for the IET to emphasise the importance of engineering and technology, placing ourselves as thought-leaders and engaging with topics of the highest importance.

We want to see leaders recognise the pivotal role that engineering skills play in solving global issues and how we can utilise engineers’ innovative and creative thinking to find tangible solutions to the pressing issues of global warming and climate change.”

What’s coming up at COP26?

The first two days (1-2 November) will host the World Leaders’ Summit, where global policymakers will come together to put forward high-level ambition and action towards securing global net zero.

Each day then focuses on a key theme, with our focuses being Energy; Youth and Public Empowerment; Transport; Science and innovation and Cities, Regions and Built Environment.

Our delegation will be reporting back from the event to provide the most exciting insights from COP26, looking at how COP26 will support long-standing goals and the role that engineering and technology will play in creating this more sustainable future for us all.

You can also follow our social channels for live updates and content throughout the event.