Nordic Hub at COP26 Helsinki
The Nordic Cooperation strongly believes in both taking part in and supporting international climate negotiations. We also believe in the potential of reducing the number of flights and our carbon footprint with the help of the most up to date communication technology.
Our goal is to provide a place for people who normally don’t have the ability to attend the negotiations to gather and participate in the discussions, while reducing our climate impact.
Day 1 Biodiversity and Food Production:
This days’ events focussed on land use, forestry, and peatland conservation, alongside discussion of the effects of climate change on agriculture and the food sector. Amongst other talks and workshops the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science ran a panel discussion on Livestock’s Role in Sustainable Food Systems and Society; and the Natural Resources Institute Finland held a workshop on Solutions to tackle Climate Change in Agriculture and Food Sector.
Day 2 Climate Action and Sustainable Fashion:
The second day began with a discussion of Circular Economy and the green transition organised by Nordic Innovation; this was followed by the Council of Nordic Trade Unions hosting a seminar on Trade Unions, Climate Change and Climate Action. Talks were then held by both Accenture and Nordic Culture Point on Sustainable Fashion, globally and in the Nordics respectively.
Day 3 Energy and Water:
This day focussed on sharing energy and water-smart solutions from the Nordic countries, with discussion of decarbonising maritime and aviation sectors from Nordic Energy Research and Nordic Innovation. Nordic Innovation also hosted a talk on Water Management in Future Nordic Cities.
Day 4 Arctic Science and Just Transition:
The British Embassy Helsinki began the fourth day with an Arctic Science Breakfast, with speakers exploring Arctic climate science, followed by D-mat introducing their Reaching 1.5-Degree Lifestyles game. Voluntary carbon markets were also discussed in a joint event with Glasgow by Perspectives Climate Research.
Day 5 Nordic Council Day:
On Nordic Council Day, the crucial role of parliamentarians was in focus, also with discussion on youth and local action and engagement, all events were organised by the Nordic Council. This day began with the panel discussion Awareness without action is worthless – political commitment to climate change action, which was followed by a lunch talk on farmers and their role in the green transition. In the afternoon there was solutions and demands from young people and discussion of the rights of traditional and local communities.
Day 6 Finance Day:
On day six climate finance was discussed at length, with talks from the National Development Fund, Nordic Investment Bank and Nordea. Nefco also hosted a discussion on the EU taxonomy for Nordic SME’s. The day was wrapped up with a talk on gender equality in climate finance from DanChurchAid.
Day 7 Outcome of COP26:
Finally, on day 11, the outcome of COP26 was considered, with youth reporters and Nordic Youth Ambassadors to the UNFCCC discussing their take on the past two weeks. The Helsinki Hub was then wrapped up with a talk from panel discussion from ReGeneration 2030 on Youth advancing lighter and better living.
All the talks from this event can be viewed at: https://www.wedonthavetime.org/event/cop26
SDG 12 Targets
Supporting document(s)
