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The United Nations climate change conference, known as COP26, officially concludes on Friday as nearly 200 countries seek to finalize an agreement to combat global warming. World leaders, climate experts and activists gathered in Glasgow to encourage countries to prevent the average global temperature from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. COP26 is the 10th climate conference addressed by Lisa Friedman, a reporter at our Climate desk. A first for Lyndsey Layton, the desk’s assistant editor.

In separate interviews, they discussed lost baggage, The Times’ approach to reporting, and why, despite some criticism, summits like COP26 are important for making changes. Their answers have been edited and condensed.

When did you come to the conference?
LISA FRIEDMAN I arrived on Saturday, October 30th. My luggage arrived the next night – my flight was delayed and while we were all making our connecting flight to Glasgow, none of our luggage arrived. I leave on Sunday, November 14, when the conference is expected to officially close. After saying this 10 times, I know it’s sometimes hours of overtime, so I wanted to give myself some breathing room to write stories and tell readers what it all means and means.

Is the conference different from what you expected?
LYNDSEY LAYTON I really didn’t know what to expect. This may sound obvious, but organizing so many stories about the global nature of climate change is another. It’s another thing to come to a place like this and hear all these languages. People all over the planet are dealing with this problem and working on it and trying to find a way forward.

How is COP26 different compared to conferences you have handled in the past?
FRIEDMAN The most important to compare this is 2015, when the countries signed the Paris Agreement. There, the head of the United Nations climate body and lawmakers marched with activists on the streets of Paris and New York ahead of the conference, vowing to work together to form a deal. Since then, we have seen that countries do not really deliver on what they promise. There is much more anger and frustration from developing countries and environmental activists that the moment was not met. I would say there is a lot more pressure on countries not only to make promises but also to show that they are actually taking action.

How is the energy at the conference?
LAYTON I had some really interesting conversations. To give you an idea of ​​the various issues: I spoke to a Scottish Member of Parliament from a former coal mining town and the coal mine was closed. His men are struggling. “What do they think about climate change?” I asked. And he said they don’t care. “Climate change is a middle-class issue. My people are worried about food at the table, a roof over their heads, and a way to make a living.” This dilemma is something that happens in West Virginia as well. If this country switches to green energy, there will be displacement. It will be people and societies that will suffer. The question is, how will you support them? How do you bring new employment, new activity? It is very interesting to be able to meet people here who are experiencing the challenges and impacts of climate change in different ways.

What precautions have you taken against Covid-19?
FRIEDMAN Before we arrived, our team had a series of conversations about security protocol. We all came armed with masks and hand sanitizer. While you’re here, according to protocol, you get a rapid test and register your results with the National Health Service, and you can only go in when you show negative results. This adds a logistical layer to get in. Inside, everything is pretty far and spaced out, and people are wearing masks in the hallway, but it’s also a conference with over 30,000 people working, so the masks are coming off and there is commotion.

There are still risks. There are reports that the tests came back positive. Both the United Nations climate body and the British chair of the conference were not really transparent about the cases. As journalists, we all find the lack of transparency about the numbers really disturbing. There was a problem here.

How does it make you feel when the collective is focused on common goals?
LAYTON There are so many topics that; It’s such a complex problem. And every incoming nation has its own particular problems and concerns and its own internal politics. Like the United States – like many other countries, we are very divided over climate policy. There’s a lot to discuss, and these little conversations happen between negotiators in rooms we can’t access. You don’t really see the real meat of the arguments; you are just trying to follow the bouncing ball and trying to gather intelligence here and there. It’s very difficult to get a general view of what’s really going on. This is the challenge our reporters face.

How do you create coverage that really stands out?
LAYTON We started planning ahead like this months, months and months ago to figure out what the emerging themes would be. We started thinking about this a long time ago, and Climate editor Hannah Fairfield was super organized. We had a game plan to get into COP26. We had several stories published before we arrived in Scotland. Then we had a plan for the stories we wanted to do here and the news we could break.

There is a question circulating on the internet about whether the summit is effective. Avoid hitting that peak?
FRIEDMAN I’ve seen some of it. However, no summit, no conference can solve everything. These conferences push the moments. Countries and leaders are put on the scene and they have to commit to something. And then it’s on the record that they’re engaged in these businesses, and we can see if they keep their promises. No matter how problematic some accusations may be, without these great summits, without the eyes of the world on the leaders, you cannot make new commitments.