The agreement - although not legally binding - will set the global agenda on climate change for the next decade. Countries were asked to republish their climate action plans by the end of next year, with more ambitious emissions reduction targets for 2030.
Commitments made at COP are not legally binding and therefore will be self-policed. As targets have been missed in the past the concern is that pledges made at COP26 have no guarantee of being fulfilled.
It was agreed countries will meet next year to pledge further cuts to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is to try to keep temperature rises within 1.5C - which scientists say is required to prevent a "climate catastrophe". Current pledges, if met, will only limit global warming to about 2.4C.
For the first time at a COP conference, there was an explicit plan to reduce the use of coal - which is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions. However, countries only agreed a weaker commitment to "phase down" rather than "phase out" coal after a late intervention by China and India.
Wales was the only UK nation to sign up to a new alliance of nations committed to phasing out oil and gas.
The agreement pledged to significantly increase money to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change and make the switch to clean energy.There's also the prospect of a trillion dollar a year fund from 2025 - after a previous pledge were missed for richer countries to provide $100bn (£72bn) a year by 2020.
While some observers say the COP26 agreement represented the "start of a breakthrough", some African and Latin American countries felt not enough progress was made.
World leaders agreed to phase-out subsidies that artificially lower the price of coal, oil, or natural gas. However, no firm dates were set.
Leaders from more than 100 countries - with about 85% of the world's forests promised to stop deforestation by 2030. This includes countries such as Brazil and Indonesia where some of the highest rates of deforestation in the Amazon and the Sumatran rainforest have been occurring. However similar initiatives in the past have not stopped deforestation. It is not clear how this commitment will be policed.
A scheme to cut 30% of methane emission by 2030 was agreed by more than 100 countries. Methane is currently responsible for a third of human-generated warming.
The big emitters China, Russia and India haven't joined - but it's hoped they will later.
Financial organisations controlling $130 agreed to back clean technology, such as renewable energy, and direct finance away from fossil fuel-burning industries. The initiative is an attempt to involve private companies in meeting net-zero targets.
Wildlife Trusts Wales believes that the scale and the pace of the response by the Welsh Government following COP 26 needs to be stepped up as currently it does not match the severity of the nature crisis we face. We are running out of time to address these issues.
Addressing both the climate and nature crises means that nature-based solutions delivered at a landscape scale across Wales are vital. Nature has a crucial role in helping us adapt to climate change. We know Wales will be facing more extreme and frequent weather events. We need to invest now to let nature help by holding back flood waters and storing carbon.
One of the key ways the Welsh Government can address its carbon emissions is to increase its ambition to restore peatlands across Wales. It currently aims to restore 600-800 hectares of degraded peatland each year over the next five years. There are an estimated 90,000 hectares of peatlands across Wales. At this current rate of restoration, it will take over 112 years to achieve restoration of peatlands in Wales. This isn’t a timetable to respond to the nature crisis. Banning the sale of peat in compost sold at garden centres is essential. Whilst there is no commercial peat extraction for compost in Wales, peat is still a popular material for gardeners and the horticultural sector in Wales. The ongoing destruction of peatlands outside Wales is contributing to the climate crisis and a ban is urgently needed. At the moment, we only have a commitment to join the UK Governments consultation on a proposed ban.
Peter Cairns/2020VISION
Farming accounted for 14% of all Welsh greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. The new Agriculture (Wales) Bill is set to be the biggest policy change in the sector for decades. However, the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme will not happen until 2025. Given that farming takes place on over 80% of land across Wales, the concern is that any benefits for the climate through a reduction in greenhouse gas emission emissions from the new scheme are still a long way off.
In Wales, we are still seeing a fixation on tree planting, and Welsh Government wants to create 43,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030 and 180,000 hectares by 2050, covering 10% of Wales. We need the right tree in the right place; otherwise, planting could damage nature. There is no clarity on how these new targets will increase the coverage of native woodlands across Wales, such as the globally threatened temperate oak woodlands known as the Celtic Rainforest. The concern is that the new woodlands will be dominated by commercial coniferous plantations. These woodlands only temporarily store carbon and, often on harvest releases carbon through exposed soils.
© Simon Rawles
The Welsh Government proposals in our marine environment focus on seagrass and saltmarsh restoration, which is to be welcomed, given their ability to sequester carbon. However, the ongoing bottom trawling of the seabed around Wales releases carbon and destroys marine habitats. Marine sediments are the largest pool of carbon storage in the world. A recent study published in Nature said that bottom trawling, where heavy nets are dragged along the seabed, release over 1 gigaton of carbon globally every year and release as much carbon dioxide as the entire aviation industry. The carbon is released from the seabed sediment into the water and can increase ocean acidification as well as adversely impacting on wildlife.
Many of the commitments for renewable energy are reliant on new offshore wind production. The scale and pace of ambition here are evident; however, we need to deploy this technology slowly to understand the potential impacts on nature. The proposed areas for the turbines are over flight paths for globally threatened sea birds. We recognise the need for renewable energy, but smaller-scale community production should be the focus, as this would support the circular economy in Wales.
"In summary, small steps were achieved when giant leaps were necessary."
