2021 Notebook: Climate change, weather crises and what next

Melting glaciers, deadly floods in Germany, record high summer temperatures in generally mild Oregon, more urgent pleas for help from Pacific island nations

THE BACKGROUND: Melting glaciers, deadly floods in Germany, record high summer temperatures in generally mild Oregon, more urgent pleas for help from Pacific island nations. With growing urgency, the effects of climate change were felt around the world in 2021.

A United Nations climate conference in Glascow, Scotland, in November — called COP26 — ended with almost 200 nations agreeing to a compromise aimed at keeping a key global warming target alive, but which contained a last-minute change that watered down language about phasing out coal.

While many nations complained the deal did not go far or fast enough, they said it was better than nothing and provided incremental progress.

Here, some Associated Press journalists involved in the coverage reflect on the story and their own experiences.