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Day 11 at Cop26 – protests and warnings as the clock ticks on

Time is running out for the talks at Cop26, as protestors continue to take action.

Here are some of the takeaways from day 11.

Cop26 – Glasgow
Climate protesters stage a die-in protest outside the Cop26 venue (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Die-in for climate action

Protesters laid on the ground wrapped in shrouds outside the gates to the Cop26 venue in Glasgow to represent the grave effects of climate change.

Signs were laid over the ‘bodies’ of the Extinction Rebellion activists highlighting the death toll of climate change.

These included from forest fire in the US, flooding in Indonesia and asthma in the UK, with a gravestone placard for marking the total climate related deaths as 5 million.

Antonio Guterres
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres issued a call to action (Jane Barlow/PA)

UN secretary-general issues warning

Governments need to “pick up the pace” on tackling climate change, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres told the summit, as he warned them against making “hollow” promises.

He said: “The announcements here in Glasgow are encouraging – but they are far from enough.

“The emissions gap remains a devastating threat, the finance and adaptation gap represent a glaring injustice for the developing world.

“We need even more ambition in future revised nationally determined contributions, we need pledges to be implemented.

“We need commitments to turn concrete, we need actions to be verified, we need to bridge the deep and real credibility gap.”

Armistice Day 2021
Cop26 President Alok Sharma (front left) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon observe a two minute silence on Armistice Day (Jane Barlow/PA)

Summit figures mark Armistice Day

Cop26 president Alok Sharma, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres were among those observing a two-minute silence for Armistice Day at the summit.

They joined with commemorations across the UK by falling silent at 11am, marking the occasion at the UK Pavilion in the blue zone.

Screens at the pavilion displayed poppies in commemoration.

Artwork at Cop26
Artwork in the blue zone at Cop26 (Laura Paterson/PA)

Time is running out

With the clock ticking down to the scheduled end of the talks at 6pm on Friday, Cop26 President Alok Sharma warned countries that the penultimate day must represent “another gearshift” in the negotiations to get a deal done, calling on ministers to dial up their engagement in the talks.

Mr Sharma has previously insisted the talks will end on time, but seasoned Coppers are already resigned to the possibility of another late finish.

After all, a Cop has not ended before the early hours of Saturday for years, with Madrid in 2019 holding the record for a late finish of Sunday lunchtime.

Alok Sharma
No dramatics on show from Alok Sharma (Christopher Furlong/PA)

No drama Sharma

Mr Sharma denied he was delaying the release of a near-final version of the draft agreement text in order to create the tension needed to get it over the line, describing himself as “no drama Sharma”.

When asked if he was “trying to stage a moment of drama” he told a press conference: “People describe me as ‘no drama Sharma’.”