ALMOST 200 nations have signed off on a historic climate pact at the COP26 conference in Glasgow after a gruelling two weeks of negotiations. Countries around the globe have committed to strengthening targets to curb emissions and increasing efforts to cease reliance on unabated coal and fossil fuel subsidies. But there were plenty of disappointed […]
ALMOST 200 nations have signed off on a historic climate pact at the COP26 conference in Glasgow after a gruelling two weeks of negotiations.
Countries around the globe have committed to strengthening targets to curb emissions and increasing efforts to cease reliance on unabated coal and fossil fuel subsidies.
But there were plenty of disappointed delegates after India boldly demanded a last-minute watering-down on the pledge to phase out coal.
They requested for the wording of the draft agreement to be altered from “phase-out” to “phase-down” in regards to the use of unabated coal power.
The major edit quickly dampened the optimistic mood, with Switzerland expressing their “profound disappointment” at the change.
Fiji’s representative also slammed the eleventh hour modification, telling the climate summit of its “astonishment”.
He said nations were warned to avoid making “last-minute” changes to the deal and that “due process” had not been followed.
To avoid leaving the Scottish city without an outcome, disgruntled delegates from the EU and several island states reluctantly agreed to the adaptation.
EU negotiator Frans Timmermans explained: “Because we know the longer you take to get rid of coal, the more burden you put on the natural environment, but also the more burden you put on your economy.
“Because coal is simply not a smart economic proposition either, that’s why we want to speed up the exit.”
COP26 President Alok Sharma was seen visible upset by the events and said he was “deeply sorry” for the way the process unfolded.
“I understand the deep disappointment. It’s also vital we protect this package,” he said.
He had previously referred to the final discussions as “the moment of truth for our planet”.
Negotiations surpassed the original deadline on Friday at 6pm.
But the 197 nations finally managed to agree on the final text – and promised to increase their emissions-cutting targets for 2030 by the end of next year.
After a lengthy 15 days of talks, delegates pledged to double funding for developing nations to adapt to climate change by 2025.
As well as this, they agreed to prioritise working out how to pay for the devastation climate change causes on developing countries.
Nations also successfully agreed rules on carbon offset markets – which the previous two COP conferences have failed to finalise.
The final deal was praised by US envoy John Kerry, who said it “raises ambitions” internationally.
But the secretary-general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, dubbed the outcome “a compromise.”
He said in a statement: “Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread.
“We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.
“It is time to go into emergency mode — or our chance of reaching net zero will itself be zero. I reaffirm my conviction that we must end fossil fuels subsidies.
“Phase out coal. Put a price on carbon.”
Major outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Pact include…
More to follow…
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