COP26 closes with a “compromising” climate agreement, but insufficient, says António Guterres

Although small and great progress has been made in the fight against global warming, and although the objective of trying to contain the increase in the average temperature of the earth by 1.5 degrees is maintained, as established by the Paris Agreement, many issues remain unresolved and the commitments are still not ambitious enough to achieve that goal.

After prolonging the negotiations at the Conference on Climate Change, COP26, for another day, the almost 200 countries meeting in Glasgow (Scotland) adopted on Saturday a final document that, according to the UN Secretary General, reflects the interests, contradictions and the state of political will in the world today.

“It is an important step but it is not enough. We must accelerate climate action to keep alive the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees,” António Guterres said in a video statement released at the end of the meeting. two weeks.

The UN chief added that it is time to go into “emergency mode”, ending fossil fuel subsidies, eliminating coal, putting a price on carbon, protecting vulnerable communities and fulfilling the commitment of 100,000 million dollars of climate finance.

“We have not achieved these objectives in this conference. But we have some elements to move forward,” he said.

Guterres also had a message for youth, indigenous communities, women leaders, and all those leading climate action.

“I know you’re disappointed. But the road to progress isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes there are detours. Sometimes there are ditches. But I know we can make it. We are in the fight of our lives, and this fight must be won. There is never give up. Never back down. Keep pushing forward.”

A snapshot of the deal

The final document, as the results of these UN meetings are known, asks 197 countries to report on their progress towards greater climate ambition next year, at COP27, to be held in Egypt.

A last-minute amendment introduced by China and India softened language that had previously circulated in draft text on “eliminating unstabilized carbon energy and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.” As adopted on Saturday, the text cites a “progressive reduction” in the use of coal.

The agreement also calls for stricter deadlines for governments to update their emission reduction plans.

As for the thorny issue of financing from developed countries to support developing countries in adapting to and mitigating the impact of climate change, the text stresses the need to mobilize climate finance “from all sources to achieve the level necessary to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, including significantly increasing support to developing countries, beyond $100 billion a year.

The least bad result

During the last plenary stocktaking session, many countries lamented that the agreed package of decisions was not enough. Some called it “disappointing” but generally recognized that it was balanced for what countries could agree to at the moment and given their differences.

Countries such as Nigeria, Palau, the Philippines, Chile and Turkey stated that, although there are imperfections, they broadly support the text.

“It is an incremental step forward, but it is not in line with the progress needed. It will be too late for the Maldives. This deal brings no hope to our hearts,” the Maldives’ chief negotiator said in a bittersweet speech.

US climate envoy John Kerry called the text “a powerful statement” and assured delegates that his country would engage constructively in a dialogue on loss and damage and adaptation, two of the most difficult issues to get countries to agree.

“The text represents the least bad outcome,” New Zealand’s top negotiator concluded.

Other key achievements of COP26

Beyond negotiations and political leaders, COP26 brought together some 50,000 participants online and in person to share innovative ideas, solutions to global warming, attend cultural events, and build partnerships and coalitions.

Many encouraging announcements were made during the conference. One of the most important was that the leaders of more than 120 countries, representing around 90% of the world’s forests, committed to halting and reversing deforestation by 2030.

There was also a commitment on methane, led by the United States and the European Union, in which more than 100 countries agreed to reduce emissions of this greenhouse gas by 2030.

On the other hand, more than 40 countries – including large coal consumers such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile – agreed to abandon coal, one of the largest generators of CO ₂ emissions.

The private sector also showed a strong commitment to nearly 500 global financial services companies that have agreed to align $130 trillion – about 40% of the world’s financial assets – with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, including limiting global warming. global at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Also, somewhat by surprise to many, the United States and China have pledged to boost climate cooperation over the next decade. In a joint statement they said they had agreed to take action on a number of issues, including methane emissions, the clean energy transition and decarbonisation. They also reiterated their commitment to stick to the 1.5 degree target.

On green transport, more than 100 national governments, cities, states and large companies signed the Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans to end the sale of internal combustion engines by 2035 in the world’s major markets in 2040. At least 13 countries have also committed to ending the sale of heavy-duty vehicles powered by fossil fuels by 2040.

Many “smaller” but equally inspiring commitments have been made in the last two weeks, such as that of 11 countries creating the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA). Ireland, France, Denmark and Costa Rica, among others, as well as some sub-national governments, launched this alliance, the first of its kind, to set an end date for oil and gas exploration and extraction at the national level.

A quick review of how we got here

In 1992, the UN organized a big event in Rio de Janeiro called the Earth Summit, in which the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted.

In this treaty, nations agreed to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere” to prevent dangerous interference by human activity with the climate system. Currently, the treaty has 197 signatories.

Since 1994, the year the treaty entered into force, the UN has brought together almost every country on the planet each year at the Conference on Climate Change or “COP”, which means “Conference of the Parties”.

This year should have been the 27th annual summit, but due to COVID-19, the Conference had to be pushed back a year due to last year’s postponement, hence COP26.

Source: United Nations