COP26 Community Fund

This fund is now closed.

The fund was set up to celebrate and continue the momentum of the COP26 event in Glasgow and was allocated £160k for the 2022/2023 period to this fund.

The COP26 community fund was to support community-led sustainability projects across the Eden area. These include tackling climate change, protecting and enhancing biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions.

Aim of the fund

The COP26 community fund scheme aim was to:

• Improve the natural environment in the Eden area.
• Encourage sustainability and long-term actions.
• Promote community engagement and participation in environmental and sustainability projects.

This fund was to help us to reach our goal of net-zero by 2030. It was hoped that it would have a range of benefits for the residents of Eden. It would increase the use of renewable energy. It would help to promote and enhance natural habitats and biodiversity. Reducing air pollution would help to improve the health and well-being of the residents of Eden.

What was COP26?

COP26 was the 2021 United Nations annual climate change conference. COP stands for Conference of the Parties. Parties are the signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is a treaty agreed in 1994 which has 197 Parties (196 countries and the EU). The 2021 conference took place in Glasgow and was hosted by the UK and Italy. It was the 26th meeting of the Parties which is why it was called COP26.

United Nations climate change conferences are among the largest international meetings in the world. The negotiations between governments are complex and involve officials from every country in the world. Representatives from civil society and the global news media also attend.