Chile uses Spain to save the Climate Summit after two days of blockade

After more than two days of absolute blockade of the negotiations, Carolina Schmidt, the president of the Madrid Climate Summit, passed the reins of the bulk of the talks to the Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, last night. In an emotional speech delivered before an informal plenary session, the Chilean reaffirmed her country’s desire that the meeting end with a great advance in the fight against climate change and apologized for the prolongation of the conference, which at six in the morning of this Sunday has broken all the records of prolongation.

“We will be here with all the commitment as president, with your women, your men and your children. If we can’t announce an ambitious decision, we fail people. We need ambition,” he warned delegates a few seconds before announcing that he was passing the baton to Ribera in the entire package pending approval except on the issue of carbon markets that will remain under his responsibility although it is already almost ruled out that it can be approved. The Spanish minister will have to close everything related to ambition (the expansion of _CO2 reduction targets), financing and payments from rich countries to those affected by climate change, according to Schmidt.

Firm statement

The European Union (EU) had shown its commitment throughout the day that the Madrid Climate Summit ended with a “firm” call for countries to redouble their efforts in reducing _CO2 emissions from 2020. He wasn’t going to settle for less. This was expressed in the morning by the European negotiators in public and reiterated in the meetings held throughout the day without achieving a single breakthrough.

Europe considers that it has done its homework with its Green Deal that plans to extend the reduction of emissions to 50% or 55% in 2030 and with the commitment to neutrality in 2050 of all its members, except Poland. He also believes that science and the voice of the street that has resonated so loudly in Madrid cannot be ignored. Any decaffeinated resolution would, in his view, be a failure.

Although it is true that the opposition of China, India, Brazil and Australia had also been firm, some European sources began to blame the Chilean presidency of the summit more for not knowing how to handle the negotiations. COP25 was already on its way to becoming the longest in history. The closing of this type of appointment had never happened until now in the early hours of Sunday and always because the topics that had been discussed were of importance. Now, it was just a matter of adopting a declaration and leaving at least the last outstanding fringe of the Paris Agreements, the creation of carbon markets, on track.

Two rejected drafts

Early in the morning the Chilean presidency released two draft agreements that were rejected and the rest of the day was not able to put together any others despite having announced it repeatedly. The draft final declaration merely encouraged countries to “seize the opportunity in 2020 to reflect the greatest possible ambition in response to the urgency of addressing climate change and with a view to achieving the long-term goals set” in Paris. That is, to ensure that the temperature does not reach 2ºC and, if possible, 1.5ºC.

The EU and its allies considered the text “insufficient”, noting that the greater ambition in _CO2 cuts must be concretized in the plans that countries have to present next year. Krista Mikkonen, Finland’s environment minister, warned, speaking on behalf of the EU, that “there will be no end” to the talks if a “strong message” is not adopted. “We have the science. We have the collective will enshrined in the Paris agreement. And now is the time to step up action,” said Ola Elvestuen, Norway’s head of environment. “A weak stimulus will not be understood by the world. It will send a message that we are not listening to science,” he added.

Environmental organizations called the proposal “disappointing” and “completely unacceptable.” Adopting the proposed declaration “would be a betrayal for all people around the world suffering from climate impacts and for those who call for action,” warned Jennifer Morgan, director of Greenpeace International.

The negotiator of the Chilean presidency, Andrés Landerretche, promised to present a new draft final declaration that he was not able to react all day.

Marginalized countries

The Chilean presidency was also accused of having marginalized a large part of the countries. This was said directly by the representative of Papua New Guinea in the only intervention of the countries in the plenary session of the night. “90% of the countries have been removed from the negotiation,” he criticized, after which he received a loud salvo of applause.

Even more bogged down was the debate over the creation of carbon markets. His draft, released shortly after 9 a.m., drew harsh criticism for containing even contradictory elements. The carbon market would allow countries that did not meet their emission reduction targets to buy rights from those with leftovers. The problem is that the model required by some countries opens the door to double counting. That is to say that a reduction in emissions would be counted on one country to meet the objectives set and would also serve another to comply with them. Europe prefers to leave the matter for the next summit if a proper agreement is not reached.

Source: The Newspaper