Glasgow, UK - COP26 claims to be a most sustainable COP climate summit, but how good is it, really? The pledges and goals sound great, but the details are in the fine print – and the venue itself.

COP26 organizers want to keep the environmental impacts of the conference low and promote responsible resource use.

Some choices, such as a more sustainable menu and reusable drink cups, show an effort to make good on those goals.

However, the venue itself was given horrible emissions grades by energy performance inspectors, and even though Glasgow's Scottish Event Campus received recommendations as early as 2012 on how to cut up to a quarter of the emissions, those changes aren't expected until 2023.

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So how can the organizers say that this year's COP climate summit is carbon-neutral?

It turns out they are using the same accounting trick as big tech companies in the US, who pat themselves on the back for using 100% renewable electricity. Just like those tech companies, the summit is using green certificates to offset its use of fossil fuels and make the claim that this year's biggest climate summit is the first carbon-neutral COP.

Paper-pushing aside, the conference will emit CO2, and the Scottish Event Campus buildings are in sad shape with their atrocious energy efficiency and emissions.

The event's carbon offset strategy just makes COP26 seem greener than it is, and some argue that the strategy is an attempt to distract from the shortcomings of the venue.

The climate summit is still the last best shot at getting the world to pull together against the climate crisis – even if the location is not a showcase of sustainability.