COP26 updates: Countries officially adopt Glasgow Climate Pact

The Maldives, an archipelago made up of over 1,100 coral islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is the lowest lying nation in the world. Therefore, sea level rise caused by global climate change is an existential threat to the island nation.

"Our islands are slowly being inundated by the sea, one by one," Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the president of the Maldives, told the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP26, earlier this week. "If we do not reverse this trend, the Maldives will cease to exist by the end of this century."

At the current rate of global warming, almost 80% of the Maldives could become uninhabitable by 2050, according to multiple reports from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Read more here.

The United Nations has announced a number of ambitious emissions reduction targets as part of its Sports for Climate Action Framework.

The goals include reaching net zero by 2040 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

Organizations such as the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, Athletics Kenya, BBC Sport, the Premier League, Formula E and Munster Rugby have signed up for the new targets. 

Moreover, signatories will submit plans on how to implement these targets as well as report on overall progress each year.  

"Four years since we launched the Sports for Climate Action Framework, more than 280 sports organizations have committed to the overarching objectives of aligning sport with the goals of the Paris Agreement," U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs

Biden said the U.S. was able to make "real progress" at COP26 on methane reduction and reforestation strategies, including convincing countries on “the sideline” to commit to ambitious goals in those arenas as well. 

Biden criticized China, the world’s biggest emitter, and Russia for failing to show up in Glasgow. 

"The rest of the world is going to look to China and say...are they providing?" Biden said. "And they've lost the ability to influence people around the world and all the people here at COP."

When asked by a reporter how he would respond to "skeptical" and "angry" protesters at the conference, Biden said, “I think anyone who cares about the environment should be worried.”

"There’s a reason for people to be worried," he said. "I’m worried."

Biden continued, "But I’m optimistic….what I feel is that the populations of each of our countries have a different perspective that they did at COP25."

Biden added that people are starting to recognize the disasters that have been exacerbated by climate change, such as deadly flooding from hurricanes and wildfires burning in the western U.S., which has been experiencing a megadrought.

"I think there’s a whole different attitude," Biden said.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Although not a part of his official schedule, Biden met with Prince Charles at COP26, a senior administration official said.

Biden spoke on the importance of collaboration between the two nations.

“They underlined the need for ambitious commitments and concrete actions among partners worldwide and discussed Prince Charles’ initiatives to engage the private sector on sustainability,” the official said.

Biden thanked the U.K. for hosting COP26 and commended the royal family and Charles’ dedication to environmental activism over the past 50 years.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle