COP26: What are the five greenest countries and the five biggest carbon emitters?
By Elisa Menendez, ITV News
World leaders will gather in Glasgow next week to discuss how best to tackle climate change at COP26.
The United Nations annual meeting will also be an opportunity for countries to hold each other accountable for their efforts in reducing global warming.
In 2015, almost 200 countries signed up to the historic Paris Agreement pledging to limit global warming to well below 2C but preferably 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
As the meeting fast approaches, which countries are among the best in tackling climate change and which ones are not?
Which countries are getting it right?
Scandinavian and Nordic countries are some of the greenest in the world, with the likes of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden leading the way with switching to sustainable resources.
Such countries are doing well as "they tend to be less industrialised and have lower, spread out populations", Executive Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Asher Minns, told ITV News.
Other experts note that Nordic and Scandinavian cultures are generally more eco-conscious than others, with more of an emphasis on slow living, while many governments have green policies at the forefront of their economies.
The COP27 climate conference - what you need to know
What is COP27? When and where will it be?
What is COP27? When and where will it be?
Each year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meets at what is called the Conference of the Parties (abbreviated as COP) to discuss the world's progress on climate change and how to tackle it.
COP27 is the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties summit which will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18.
Who is going?
Who is going?
Leaders of the 197 countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - a treaty that came into force in 1994 - are invited to the summit.
These are some of the world leaders that will be attending COP27:
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is attending the conference, after initially saying he wouldn't as he was too busy focusing on the economy within his first weeks in office.
US President Joe Biden and his experienced climate envoy, John Kerry, will appear at the talks.
France President Emmanuel Macron will also be among the heads of state from around the world staying in Egypt.
King Charles III will not be attending COP27, despite being a staunch advocate for the environment. The decision was made jointly by Buckingham Palace and former prime minister Liz Truss.
Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will not attend the talks just as they decided to do for COP26.
What is it hoping to achieve?
What is it hoping to achieve?
1. Ensure full implementation of the Paris Agreement and putting negotiations into concrete actions - included within this is the target of limiting global warming to well below 2C.
2. Cementing progress on the critical workstreams of mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage, while stepping up finance notably to tackle the impacts of climate change.
3. Enhancing the delivery of the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the UN Climate Change process.
Despite recent climate protests over the years, the UK is also considered one of the best examples in the world at reducing harmful greenhouse gases.
"No countries are wholly exemplar as it's too difficult to do," added Mr Minns.
"But the UK is an exemplar as emissions have come down."
The EU as a whole is complex to analyse as it is considered one of the world's biggest emitters.
But many of the countries within it have declining emissions, along with the world's 10 most green, climate conscious countries, according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities.
Some of the top greenest countries:
According to the latest Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which ranks 180 nations on 32 performance indicators from air quality to climate change policies, the following countries (in order) are the most all-round eco-friendly:
Denmark
According to the EPI, Denmark is leading the world in slowing its growth in CO2 emissions with cutting-edge climate commitments.
Denmark is also hoping to become the first country to become entirely independent of fossil fuels by 2050.
And the changes are already visible in everyday life. On the streets of the capital Copenhagen, recycling vending machines refund a deposit when items like cans are inserted into them.
The country has long been famed for its love of cycling and the government has invested more than £100 million in cycling highways since 2005. Around 45% of people in Copenhagen are said to cycle to work.
Denmark has also been clever with how it utilises buildings, with a prime example being CopenHill - a green energy power plant with an outdoor ski slope and recreational hill on top.
Luxembourg
The small European country is known for its efforts in protecting biodiversity, natural habitats and water resources.
One progressive way it has protected biodiversity is by creating wildlife corridors running across major roads.
Its water legislation is also understood to offer less funding to less sustainable sewage treatment plants - and will only give companies more money if they stick to more eco-friendly regulation.
Switzerland
In 2016, Switzerland became the first country to vote for implementing a green economy.
The country has become one of the top recyclers in the world after introducing a levy on bags for household waste, and pushing retailers to sell produce straight from shelves instead of in packaging.
The implementation of a carbon tax has also increasingly encouraged companies and citizens to find eco-friendly energy alternatives, while homes powered by green heat pumps have been the "norm" for some time.
Meanwhile, its Spatial Planning Act helps protect the country's green spaces, including its crystal clear lakes.
Much of Geneva's eco success is down to using its lake water to cool and reheat large buildings and using hydroelectricity plants to power the city's electricity.
United Kingdom
According to the EPI, the UK is the second country after Denmark that is successfully slowing its growth in O2 emissions the most.
The UK is considered a global leader in tackling single-use plastic waste, after banning plastic straws, stirrers, cotton buds and microbeads in cosmetic products. The 10p charge on single-use plastic carrier bags has also cut supermarket sales by 95% since 2015, said the government.
It is also a leader in offshore wind with more installed capacity than any other country, powering around 4.5 million homes annually.
And more British homes are about to be powered up by water flowing from Norwegian fjords via the world's longest subsea power cable.
The UK announced this week that it is offering £5,000 grants to homeowners to swap their gas boiler for more eco-friendly systems such as heat pumps.
It comes after the government offered discounts on brand new low-emission vehicles through a grant given to vehicle dealerships and manufacturers.
France
Food is a huge part of French culture and since 2016, supermarkets have been banned from throwing away unsold food that is still edible.
Those that donate produce to charities and food banks can take advantage of a pre-existing tax break. Experts say it encouraged businesses like bakeries and start-ups to sell food at the end of the day at a discounted price.
Earlier this year, France approved a climate change bill that will overhaul the transport, housing and food sectors.
The wide-ranging bill includes banning future airport expansions, prohibiting open-air terrace heaters, reduce packaging waste and offering more vegetarian meals in state schools.
The top five carbon emitters:
China
United States
India
Russia
Japan
"What China does influences all carbon emissions, so effectively global climate, because they're such a huge economy power," said Mr Minns.
However, there are great differences in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by each nation. For example, the US emits roughly half of what China does.
China and India's emissions are continuing to rise but the United States' is coming down.