I WROTE last week about how the SNP leadership of Glasgow City Council was betraying the potential legacy of COP26 by breaking their promise to maintain and restore the People’s Palace Winter Gardens in Glasgow Green.

Despite the images being widely shared, there have still been no reassurances from Susan Aitken on the future of the cherished East End institution.

Thankfully, down by the Clyde, we have had significant progress on the world’s efforts to fight the climate crisis at the COP26 summit, brought to Glasgow by the UK Government.

While the summit went into extra time, UK Government minister and COP26 president Alok Sharma was able to emotionally announce that negotiations successfully concluded with a Glasgow Climate Pact, after a tense, final few hours.

Inevitably when it comes to international diplomacy there have been compromises on all sides, but crucial steps have been taken to tackle the climate emergency and limiting the devastation caused by rising temperatures.

For the first time ever, the Glasgow Climate Pact includes the language of fossil fuel reduction and curbing subsidies for polluting industries. The inclusion of this kind of language has been described by Greenpeace International as a “breakthrough”, and Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute, has said the text “outlines a good process for agreeing a significant increase in investment in developing countries to help them make their economies zero-carbon and climate-resilient”.

Countries will also now be asked to reveal their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by next year – much earlier than previously planned.

Commitments such as these are hard-fought for by UN and UK negotiating teams, especially in the face of fierce opposition from countries around the world who wish to block progress.

It was welcome that Nicola Sturgeon took time out from her schedule of selfies and photos to pay tribute to the organisation of the summit, which was hosted by the UK Government.

This was the largest event Glasgow had ever hosted and it posed many significant logistical challenges for the city’s residents and businesses throughout the weekend. I would like to praise all stakeholders for the successful and smooth running of the event, despite many protests and strikes among our cleansing workers taking place.

As the Clydeside returns to normal, we should all take great pride that it was our city that hosted diplomats and world leaders from around the globe in this critical moment in our shared responsibility to preserving our planet.

President Obama was correct to say that the ability to find common ground on climate change has been hampered in recent years by “the rise of nationalism and tribal impulses”. Here in Scotland, the SNP chose to coincide the start of COP26 with a newspaper advert espousing the virtues of independence.

It might come as a surprise to Sturgeon, but climate change doesn’t stop at Gretna or Berwick-upon-Tweed. It is only through working together, not dividing us, that true leaders can hope to address the climate crisis. The onus after the agreed Glasgow Climate Pact is for both of Scotland’s governments to work together in order to achieve our net zero ambitions.