COP26 provided a unique opportunity, for a world emerging from the global disruption caused by COVID 19, to come together and tackle another global event that has the potential to cause significantly greater and more persistent disruption: climate change. The various pacts, agreements and initiatives report- ed in this paper should, if fully implemented, help lower global emissions and also provide identified opportunities for hydropower development. However, in their totality, policies to date remain inadequate to limit global temperature rises below the 1.5℃ target. Acknowledging the CAT analysis reported earlier, and reflecting on the huge task that remains, COP26 President Alok Sharma said in his concluding remarks from the meeting: "Current policies would leave us on a path to a devastating temperature rise. We can now say with credibility that we have kept 1.5℃ alive. But, its pulse is weak and it will only survive if we keep our promises and translate commitments into rapid action. From here, we must now move forward together and deliver on the expectations set out in the Glasgow Climate Pact, and close the vast gap which remains. Because as Prime Minister Mia Mottley told us at the start of this conference, for Barbados and other small island states, 'two degrees is a death sentence'. It is up to all of us to sustain our lodestar of keeping 1.5℃ within reach and to continue our efforts to get finance flowing and boost adaptation. After the collective dedication which has delivered the Glasgow Climate Pact, our work here cannot be wasted".
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