Reaction to the COP26 climate agreement

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of an impending “climate catastrophe” while environmental activist Greta Thunberg dismissed the agreement from Saturday’s COP26 climate conference as “blah blah blah.” After a last minute drama in Scotland to close the deal, even those who welcomed the deal in Glasgow said there was a lot of work to be done.

UN chief Guterres acknowledged the deal’s shortcomings in a statement following the deal reached Saturday night at the Glasgow conference.

“The outcome of # COP26 is a compromise, reflecting the interests, contradictions and the state of political will in the world today,” he tweeted. “It is an important step, but it is not enough.”

“Our fragile planet hangs by a thread,” he warned, adding that “we are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.”

In a follow-up tweet, the UN chief sent a message to “young people, indigenous communities, women leaders, everyone who leads in #ClimateAction.” He said, “I know you might be disappointed. But we are in the fight of our lives and this fight must be won. “

The COP26 climate agreement is ‘a clear betrayal of the millions suffering from the climate crisis’

Thunberg, possibly the world’s best-known environmental activist, was more forceful in her assessment: “# COP26 is over,” she tweeted. Here’s a short summary: Blah blah blah. But the real work continues outside of these corridors. And we will never give up, never. “

During the conference, Thunberg and other activists had denounced the way it was unfolding, arguing that world leaders had failed to match their words with actual actions.

‘Hard work ahead’

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained relatively optimistic.

“There is still a lot more to do in the coming years,” Johnson said.

“But today’s agreement is a big step forward and, critically, we have the first international agreement to phase out carbon and a roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.”

My message to young people, indigenous communities, women leaders, to all those who lead in # AcciónClima:

I know you might be disappointed. But we are in the fight of our lives and this fight must be won.

Never give up, never quit. Keep pushing forward. I am with you. # COP26

– António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 13, 2021

A statement from the European Commission said the agreement kept alive the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, “giving us the opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen said conference delegates made progress on commitments to reduce hazardous emissions and raising $ 100 billion a year to help developing and vulnerable countries.

“But there will be no time to relax: there is still a lot of work ahead,” he added.

Last minute drama

There was a late-breaking drama in Glasgow when India, backed by China and other coal-dependent developing nations, rejected a clause calling for the “phase-out” of coal-based power. After a meeting between envoys from China, India, the United States and the European Union, the clause was hastily amended to ask countries to “gradually reduce” their use of coal.

In recent days, the Australian government has vowed to sell coal for decades to come. But Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister of Australia, now president of the Asia Society, remained hopeful.

“While the official text might not have accepted the phasing out of coal, the statements made by world leaders in Glasgow leave no doubt that coal is on its way to being consigned to history.”

The one-word change on coal was greeted with dismay by both the rich countries of Europe and the small island nations, along with others still developing.

“We believe that we have left ourselves on the sidelines in a non-transparent and non-inclusive process,” said the envoy from Mexico, Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama. “We all have outstanding concerns, but we were told that we could not reopen the text … while others may still ask for their promises to be watered down.”

But Mexico and others said they would leave the deal revised.

‘I’m deeply sorry’

Compromising was always a matter of balancing the demands of climate-vulnerable nations, major industrial powers, and those like India and China that rely on fossil fuels to lift their economies and populations out of poverty.

The voice of COP26 President Alok Sharma cracked with emotion in response to the expression of anger from vulnerable nations at the last minute changes.

“I apologize for the way this process has developed,” he told the assembly. “I am deeply sorry.”

The overarching goal that had been set for the conference was one that climate activists and vulnerable countries said was too modest: “keep alive” the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to prevent global temperatures from rising beyond 1, 5 ° C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists say warming beyond this point could trigger irreversible and uncontrollable climate impacts.

By asking nations to set tougher targets for next year to cut emissions that cause global warming, the agreement effectively recognized that the commitments were still inadequate. National pledges currently have the world on track for about 2.4 ° C of warming.

The talks also led to a breakthrough in resolving rules to cover government-led markets for carbon offsets.

Companies and countries with vast forest cover had lobbied hard for a deal, hoping to legitimize the rapidly growing global markets for voluntary offsets as well.

The deal allows countries to partially meet their climate goals by purchasing offset credits that represent emission cuts by others, potentially unlocking trillions of dollars to protect forests, expand renewable energy, and other projects to combat climate change.

‘The age of coal is ending’

Jennifer Morgan, executive director of the campaign group Greenpeace, saw the glass half full.

“They changed a word, but they cannot change the signal that comes out of this COP, that the era of coal is ending,” he said. “If you are an executive of a coal company, this COP had a bad result.”

Developing countries argue that rich nations, whose historical emissions are largely responsible for global warming, must fund their efforts both to stop using fossil fuels and to adapt to increasingly severe climate shocks.

The deal offered the promise of doubling adaptation funding by 2025 from 2019, but again without guarantees. A UN committee will report next year on progress toward delivering the $ 100 billion per year in promised climate funds, after rich nations missed the 2020 deadline for the funds. Finances will be discussed again in 2024 and 2026.

But the deal left many vulnerable nations dejected by failing to offer financing for climate-related loss and damage, a promise made in the original pact called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992.

Rich nations once again resisted acknowledging financial responsibility for their years of emissions that fueled climate change as they achieved economic prosperity.

While the Glasgow agreement set out a path to address the problem by establishing a new dedicated secretariat, vulnerable countries said that represented a modicum of acceptability.

“This package is not perfect. The change in coal and a weak result in loss and damage are blows, ”said Tina Stee, climate envoy from the Marshall Islands. Still, “the elements of the Glasgow Package are a lifeline for my country. We must not discount the crucial benefits covered in this package. “

( Jowharwith AFP, REUTERS)