COP26 Webinar Recap

Dec 31

Written by: Isabelle Sain, Communications Designer @ Threading Change

Editor: Sarah O’Rourke, Communications Manager @ Threading Change

[20-minute read]

For three decades the United Nations has hosted the conference of parties (COP) to gather countries to tackle the global climate crisis at an international level. The 26th edition was hosted in New Glasgow, Scotland. Being held during Covid-19, the pandemic and its impacts on communities was a dominant topic. In addition, the UN Sustainable Fashion Charter is one of many agreements that had renewed commitments. COP26 saw the UN Sustainable Fashion Charter draft up renewed statements with updated science-based emission reduction targets, committing to halving emissions by 2030 (an update on the previous target of 30% reductions by 2030) and achieving net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. The charter also urges big brands to secure 100% of electricity from renewable sources with minimal other environmental or social impacts, for owned and operated (scope 2) emissions by 2030. This was a pivotal moment, with news outlets and industry leaders recognizing the vital role the fashion industry has in reducing our climate emissions. How can fashion become a true solution towards climate action? And what can we improve on?

Many country organizations discussed the feasibility of reaching climate targets, raising their ambitions amidst a global climate emergency and addressing the fashion industry can be a game changer in our climate emergency. Many people that we have held discussions with agreed that the bold actions required to tackle the fashion industry were absent on the agenda, despite fashion being a universal touch point culturally and for every major sector from fossil fuel extraction to agriculture. Corporate greenwashing was given a platform over the voices of the most devastated in the supply chain, who not only suffer at the hands of fashion’s exploitative working practices but who are already experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis.

There are some things that have been addressed and renewed but during this discussion we wanted to raise some questions and ask ourselves how can we make sense of what happened and how can fashion become a true solution towards climate action. To do so, we had three amazing panelists who were on the ground at COP26. They are experts in this field and graciously shared their direct reflections on COP26 and their impacts on fashion and sustainability.

Our first panelist was Muhannad Malas who joined the Stand.Earth team in March 2021 to challenge global fashion brands to take strong action to phase out fossil fuels and become a catalyst for a just energy transition in countries where their products are manufactured. After realizing the critical role that environmental pollution and injustice play in shaping health inequities during his graduate studies, Muhannad decided to pursue a career as a campaigner to help put in place government and corporate policies that put the health of people and the environment first.

Muhannad emphasized how important it is to have these collective discussions because we need the collective to do the work to move this sector forward. Muhannad introduced to us what he is working on with Stand.Earth as a senior climate campaigner in fashion. One of his biggest campaign projects is to phase out fossil fuels from the supply chain of the fashion industry, something brands do not discuss instead focusing on programs to reduce single use plastics or sourcing renewable energy. Muhannad explained how companies know that more than 90% of their emissions come from their supply chains. Shipping, manufacturing and processing are the biggest contributors of fossil fuels but stores and headquarters usually make up much less than 10% of the emissions yet this is where most of the industry's focus is. He points to how in many ways the fashion industry’s major issues like water pollution, labour issues and deforestation are at the heart of the climate problem. Muhannad explained how big brands are continuing to use coal to power their manufacturing like Nike, Lululemon and Zara but the companies are exploiting the countries for manufacturing causing a major cost on the workers and communities' health. Muhannad introduced a tool created by Stand.Earth that illuminates where the industry and brands need to take action in order to become a fossil-free industry. This tool is called the Fossil-Free Fashion Scorecard and it benchmarks brand practices, actions and promises with a grading system based on the brands progress within sustainability. One company Muhannad highlighted was Lululemon and its ties to wellness and wellbeing of people but most of their sustainability efforts have been green washing and they are not actions towards renewable supply chains. A campaign Stand.Earth is pursuing is having Lululemon become a climate leader as they have a huge opportunity being one of the fastest growing fashion companies in the world with emissions going up significantly during the global recession due to the pandemic. Stand’s perspective on COP26 is that they took some important steps to realign emission reduction and the phase out of on-site coal, for example the use of coal in water boilers for dying and washing fabric by 2030. But what the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate action at COP26 failed to do was commit to switching to 100% renewable electricity within the supply chain as well as the elimination of fossil fuel derived materials such as polyester.

Our next speaker was one of our wonderful board members Puninda Thind. Puninda is deeply committed to building a sustainable, prosperous, equitable future and helping people understand and respect the interconnectedness of our world. Puninda is also a member of the board of directors for Leading Change, which supports the development of young sustainability leaders. She is active in her local community as a member of the Global Shaper Community. Currently, she is a graduate student in the MSc Sustainability, Enterprise, and Environment program at the University of Oxford.

Puninda’s background is in corporate sustainability and as a sustainable consultant has helped businesses transition to a green economy and guided different organizations across different sectors such as beauty, energy and fashion through the process of developing and implementing a strategy to set credible targets and engage across the supply chain. She acknowledges that she approaches sustainable fashion with a critical lens as a practitioner and climate justice advocate. She believes that organizations have an important role to play when addressing the intersecting social crisis that we face today.

Puninda introduced the discussion of the negotiations and provided a bit of background on the process of COP26. She brings in interesting points on the different events like the demonstrations made up of civil society demanding credible action on top of negotiations and press conferences. Puninda addressed what we heard from many organizers, activists and youth delegates, which was that there was no accessibility and limited participation in the negotiations as well many delegations from global south countries faced barriers in joining the conversations. The key outcomes around negotiations that she highlighted were insufficient progress but as Puninda pointed out it is the first time countries are taking action on fossil fuels and actually including the words fossil fuels within the New Glasgow pact. But rules around transparency, time frames and how they communicate delivering their climate pledges, and carbon markets were not present preventing any real accountability for the delegations present. Loss and damage was one of the key areas of disappointment as loss and damage was already caused on the livelihood, communities and vulnerable countries like Bangladesh who are facing the incredible damaging consequences of the fashion industry. She believes that coming out of COP there are two things that are incredibly important to recognize and that is to hold leaders accountable and the vital need for climate leadership that will take immediate and bold actions. She also asked us to be aware of which voices are centered, it should always be the ones who are most affected by the climate crisis, their demands must inform the decisions to ensure we are not recreating the power structures that created the crisis.

Rachel Cernansky was the final speaker and has written a number of articles related to COP26 as the senior sustainability editor for Vogue Business. She also reports for other publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. Previously she has covered topics ranging from food, agriculture, environmental science, health and global development for other publications including Nature, Science, Civil Eats and the New York Times. Rachel explains how she continues to cover sustainability within an intersectional lens. She approaches her journalism holistically to give a more accurate picture of the issues we face and the comprehensive solutions needed for them. Rachel did not attend COP26 but reported on it. Being aware of the level of ambition required to face the climate crisis, she discussed how the efforts with the supply chain were unconvincing without the necessary funding commitments to ensure the change the delegates committed to. She acknowledges how it is going to take big investment and commitment to create the necessary partnerships and changes, something not present at COP26.

The conversation then transitioned to our panelist question period with our first question exploring what does decarbonization actually look like and mean for big fashion companies and is it possible? As mentioned previously, during COP26, the UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action proposed new commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. These goals were designed to support the ambition of the Paris Climate Agreement in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by encouraging brands to set science-based targets to reduce emissions. Many of the panelists highlighted how they have seen more discussion on the awareness behind decarbonization and more pressure from consumers, workers and investors. But Muhannad explains how brands are using trends to act as solutions but it is not even close to the aggressive change that needs to happen to achieve the emission reduction goal. Renewable energy has never been cheaper and fashion brands must take those steps to transition.

What each individual brand does is much more important than the UN charter and we need them to invest in renewable energy and start advocating for policies in the countries where their garments or products are being made. Brands should be advocating to stop new developments of coal plants and advocate for policies that promote renewable energy. Muhannad explains the fashion industry as this “instrumental client of energy in those countries and their word is going to matter and have a lot of market power to exercise.” He believes that decarbonization is transitioning to renewable energy by 2030 across the entire supply chain. Rachel believes that change at the infrastructure level can systematically change the supply change and calls on brands to change the terms of contracts with the suppliers and give the appropriate terms, conditions and money to create these changes. She explains that you can’t force suppliers or factories to see changes happen on that level without calling brands to pay for these changes and support the suppliers and factories through these transitions. Emphasis has been placed on decarbonization but Puninda points out how important it is to collaborate across the industry, supply chain and sectors to create rapid and actual emission reduction. Another point brought up was how this will change business models and how their business decisions will be centered around sustainability. Puninda explains that this will change the social conditions of how the business operates and how they participate in the political policies as more social and environmental risks become business and financial risks.

The conversation then talked about how all stakeholders can be included into addressing social issues and how more partners need to be a part of the contracts with brands. Muhannad addressed how transparency is key to making commitments to encompass all relevant stakeholders, not only for public awareness but for brands to also know how to address the issues within their supply chain. Stand.Earth’s focus on fossil fuels in many ways addresses how the social aspects of sustainability are interlinked as fossil fuels have fueled fast fashion as it is a cheap source of energy with no regulations or accountability. He argues that Stand’s campaigning around fossil fuels and fashion is a way to disrupt this business model and eventually put brands in a position to redesign their business and challenge the rate of production and consumption that fossil fuels has allowed.

Our final point of discussion was about how you think about the balance between technological innovation and human innovation. We explored how circular models can accelerate decarbonization and apply technology to address major issues. Human capital and labour are extremely important to recognize within this conversation as there are many misconceptions about the hand of the machine and the fact that garment workers are at the center of the fashion industry but they are exploited and treated as machines. Puninda brings up this comparison because social progress is interconnected to technological innovation, we should be seeing the same investment and long term commitments that are currently being put into technology put into the workers in order for the industry to shift. There must be a prioritization of workers rights, their conditions and executive compensation for investors of the brands for there to be a greater balance between tech and human innovation goals.

Our panelists finished off with important words for us to all reflect on. Muhannad closed off the conversation with an important reminder that “COP is not where change happens, it is what happens between the COPs which matters most”, and urges citizens to get involved in campaigns that use collective people power to challenge how the fashion industry is running. Rachel echoes the fact that it isn’t a consumer issue but highlights the power of the consumer. She explains how “the consumer is not separate from it and there is a role that the consumer plays” and with this buying power we can create a signal to these brands participating in these harmful practices. This deep dive discussion touched on a multitude of different issues facing the fashion industry but it also addressed how COP26 is connected to fashion yet was not given the same urgency that other industries have seen. We need concrete and accelerated solutions to meet the renewed climate targets combined with ambition from leadership in order to meet the urgency that this climate emergency brings. To watch the full webinar visit our YouTube channel.