New COP26 draft text adds caveats to fossil fuel subsidies phase-out

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Nearly 200 countries are connected the verge of agreeing to taxable much ambitious 2030 emissions plans adjacent twelvemonth to enactment satellite connected way for its 1.5C clime goal, nevertheless immoderate of the connection successful the draught statement has been watered down

Environment 12 November 2021

By Adam Vaughan

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, astatine COP26

The COP26 clime alteration acme successful Glasgow has entered its last throes with a 2nd draught of an statement calling for 196 countries to taxable stronger emissions simplification plans adjacent year.

The caller text, which was published soon aft 7am GMT today following overnight negotiations, inactive commits countries to accelerating the signifier retired of ember usage and fossil substance subsidies. However, delegates successful Glasgow person added caveats to the phase-outs.

Officially, COP26 is owed to decorativeness astatine 6pm GMT today, but governments and experts present judge it is astir guaranteed to tally late, arsenic astir erstwhile UN clime summits person done.

Commitments astatine Glasgow truthful acold still person the satellite connected people for astir 2.4°C of warming by the extremity of the century, acold disconnected the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goals to “pursue” 1.5°C and “well below” 2°C supra pre-industrial temperatures.

To adjacent that gap, the caller draught substance “requests” governments contented caller 2030 clime plans by the extremity of 2022, a displacement from Wednesday’s draught substance which utilized the verb “urges”. Opinion among seasoned UN clime talks observers is divided connected whether the alteration is stronger oregon weaker.

The UN considers “requests” to beryllium weaker than “urges”, a presumption that Helen Mountford astatine the US non-profit World Resources Institute agrees with. However, Richie Merzian, a erstwhile Australian authorities typical present astatine the Australia Institute, says “requests” is better. Either way, a committedness to returning with caller plans adjacent twelvemonth volition let the UK authorities to assertion that COP26 has achieved its stated purpose of “keeping alive” the 1.5°C goal.

The accelerated phase-out of fossil substance subsidies is present specified arsenic lone applying to “inefficient” ones, portion the faster phase-out of ember lone applies to “unabated” projects – ones that aren’t capturing and storing the c dioxide emissions from ember use.

Greenpeace said successful a connection that the shifts connected subsidies and ember meant the statement had been “critically weakened”. However, if ember and fossil substance subsidies stay successful Glasgow’s last agreement, it volition inactive beryllium a large precedent, the archetypal clip it has been explicitly mentioned successful 26 years of UN clime acme texts and treaties. In a statement, Bob Ward of the London School of Economics said a notation to some would beryllium “very important and historic”.

Overall, the 2nd draught of COP26’s overarching determination is much balanced, says Mountford. Negotiators person made important advancement connected the contented of however countries accommodate to the impacts of a warming world. In an important step, higher-income countries person present agreed to treble their adaptation concern from existent yearly levels – astir $20 cardinal – by 2025.

Countries person besides agreed to explicit “deep regret” that a highly important pledge of higher-income countries to present $100 cardinal a twelvemonth of clime concern to poorer ones by 2020 is apt to beryllium met 3 years late.

COP26 president Alok Sharma is present engaged successful shuttle diplomacy successful Glasgow to seal a last determination substance astatine the summit. A caller mentation of the substance is expected aboriginal this evening. Christiana Figueres, the erstwhile enforcement caput of the UN Framework Convention connected Climate Change, tells New Scientist she expects the acme volition tally into Saturday.