By Steve Murrells, Co-op CEO  

The world is warming, and extreme weather events linked to climate change such as floods, forest fires and heatwaves are intensifying.  

Yesterday marked the start of the COP26 conference and this year it's being hosted by the UK in Glasgow. For this conference, 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions by 2030 to keep global warming under control and to avoid a climate catastrophe.  

For many countries, the biggest issue to resolve at COP26 is around the world's richer countries providing $100bn annually to help developing nations deal with the effects of climate change and build greener economies.  

On Wednesday, I'll be joining the Exec Director of Fairtrade International, a cocoa producer, and the Exec Director of the Cote d'Ivoire Alliance on a panel discussion around 'Putting farmers first for fair resilience in cocoa – a debate with farmers, industry and science.'  

I'll be talking about our work with Fairtrade and how climate justice plays a part in our ten-point climate plan.  

What can you do to help make things fairer for the planet? 

Last month we announced a new partnership with Count Us In, as part of a Co-op wide commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and help our colleagues and members protect what they love the most from climate change.  

Count Us In is made up of 16 steps, which have been selected with experts to help reduce carbon pollution. You can take simple steps, with a huge impact – from cutting food waste to walking or cycling.  

I'm pledging to reduce my food waste and encouraging everyone to continue speaking up about these critical issues. Make your pledge here today www.coop.co.uk/cop26.  

Speak up about climate change  

If you're a Co-op colleague that has access to Yammer, head over to the Our Co-op page to take part in our climate conversation or head over to www.coop.co.uk/socialhub to share your pledge with your family, friends and followers.