Publishers support COP26 conference with virtual showcase

More than 35 book publishers will be supporting this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) through a virtual showcase of titles focusing on the crisis and sustainability.

The titles will be hosted on the Exact Editions website and will be free and open-access temporarily throughout both the Milan Pre-COP meeting from 30th September to 3rd October and the Glasgow COP26 meeting from 1st to 12th November, running alongside other key events and resources.

The initiative is supported by the International Publishers Association (IPA) and Save The Children. Each participating publisher, including the likes of Bloomsbury, Elsevier and the Natural History Museum, has its own shelf of four titles, which range widely between fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. There will also be a separate collection of all the German-language books in the showcase, following a strong response from the German book publishing sector. 

Exact Editions’ digital archiving technology means each individual book, publisher collection and the complete showcase will all have an advanced search function, which enables readers to pinpoint references to specific key terms, topics or authors instantly. 

Chairman and co-founder of Exact Editions, Adam Hodgkin, said: “The ability to effortlessly stream large archives and collections online means the platform is the ideal tool for publishers to project content in support of the COP26 conference. We are proud to champion such an important cause and proud that the wide range of material makes the showcase compelling to people of any age and stage.”

Michiel Kolman, chair of the IPA inclusive publishing and literacy committee, said: “Research has shown that reading has the power to deepen our understanding of key issues. In terms of climate change, both fiction and non-fiction genres help to inform, inspire and ultimately shape a sustainable culture. Publishers are also increasingly taking steps to reduce their own environmental footprints, and this purely digital showcase is indicative of a move to more sustainable initiatives."

Emma Wagner, head of education policy and advocacy at Save the Children, added: “The showcase is a wonderful resource; the role of children in tackling the climate crisis is crucial and the educational books included in the showcase enable them to simply understand complex issues and tackle them positively as they grow up. We call for more accessible and multi-lingual resources for children of all ages on climate change to be made available worldwide.”