The COP26 climate summit has finally concluded after nations agreed to a landmark deal aimed at preventing catastrophic global warming. China and India made a last-minute intervention to water down language in the final text on coal. The language was changed to “phase down” on unabated coal power instead of the stronger “phase out”. Several countries made angry statements following the sudden intervention. Mexico called it a “non-inclusive and non-transparent process”. UK COP26 president Alok Sharma broke down after apologizing for the last-minute change and urged countries to go forward with approving the pact. Teams from 197 countries worked late into the night on the international agreement that for the first time included reference to fossil fuels, the driving force of the climate crisis. While this COP’s outcome does not achieve the global aspiration of limiting warming to 1.5C, it keeps the prospect within reach, with a series of processes to close emissions gaps and loopholes, and in this crucial decade. Major polluters will be required to return in 2022 with improved emissions-reduction targets to meet the Paris Agreement goals.
Louise Boyle, Daisy Dunne, and Andrew Woodcock. Independent. November 13, 2021.
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