From Sunday, October 31st the UK will host the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the next step on the global path to mitigating the worst effects of climate change and an update on each country's commitments to stay beneath the 1.5 degree limit set by the Paris Agreement as part of COP21, held in Paris in 2015.

Understanding Climate Change

As part of the COP26 goal of working together, four Bloomsbury books about sustainability and climate change have been selected for inclusion in theCOP26 Virtual Book Showcasehosted on the Exact Editions platform with books from more than 35 of the world's leading publishers to inform and educate delegates and the general public at the summit. Books in the showcase will be made freely available to read online during the event in Glasgow from Sunday, October 31st to Friday, November 12th with a preview provided during the Milan "Pre-COP" meeting. For a video walkthrough of the showcase and the other publishers involved, see theofficial announcement on Publishing Perspectives.

The titles selected titles from Bloomsbury's catalogues are:

In addition,Our Biggest Experimentby Alice Bell has been chosen to feature in a temporary week-long Reading Room link across the Exact Editions social media accounts from October 28th to November 22nd and Bloomsbury will be providing addition support for the link via our own social channels and networks.
In a further commitment to limit emissions, Bloomsbury has signed the Publishers' Association sustainability pledge Publishing Declares, launched in October 2021, alongside 38 other industry leaders. Read more about their declaration: "Publishing industry makes sustainability pledge"

Science-Based Targets

Bloomsbury's own targets to drastically reduce our emissions from our operations by 46% by 2030 have now been validated byThe Science Based Targets initiative(SBTi) which mobilizes companies to set science-based targets in the transition to the low-carbon economy. This reduction will help limit our global carbon emissions and aim for the 1.5 degrees target in line with the Paris Agreement.
We'll continue to work in close collaboration with all of our suppliers to reduce emissions. Our plans includes cutting emissions made in our supply chain by 20% by 2035 and we hope to do even more in this area as we recognise the urgency required.

Jude Drake, Head of Sustainability at Bloomsbury, commented 'It is impossible not to witness the extreme changes in our weather patterns around the world in the last 12 months without acknowledging the huge challenge we have ahead when it comes to climate change. We are pleased to have taken this first step to map emissions and set reduction targets, and have a clear path ahead for the company. We know there is so much more to do and it is the first step of many in the coming years.'

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi call to action is one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. The initiative defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies' targets.

Plant More Trees to Protect Biodiversity

Bloomsbury has partnered withThe Woodland Trustin sponsoring a 1 acre grove at Langley Vale Wood in Epsom, Surrey. Our donation encompasses ongoing care and management of the trees to ensure they grow into maturity enabling them to provide a rich wildlife environment.
We're also sponsoring the preservation of over 8,900 trees in 2021 through a donation toReforest Actionin Guinea, Peru and Indonesia. All 850 members of staff across Bloomsbury's global offices have been given a code to plant 10 trees via the Reforest Action projects which are taking place across the globe.

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Bloomsbury Publishing plc published this content on 28 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 October 2021 13:42:09 UTC.