An agreement was reached between the parties after an important formulation of coal was changed at the last minute in line with a proposal from India. Several of the other countries were strongly critical of the change, but it was still accepted.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres praises the progress made, but believes it is not enough. He says the world is still on the brink of a climate catastrophe.
– The texts that were adopted are a compromise. They are taking important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not large enough to resolve any deep contradictions, he says.
– Our fragile planet hangs in a thin thread. We are still knocking on the door of a climate catastrophe.
– SATISFIED: The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson is pleased with the final declaration from Glasgow. Photo: Henry Nicholls / AP / NTB
–
– A big step forward
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also says much remains to be done to curb global warming.
– There is an enormous amount more to do in the years to come, Johnson said after the final declaration from Cop26 was adopted in Glasgow on Saturday night.
“But today’s agreement is a big step forward, and something that is crucial, we now have the first international agreement to phase out coal, and a roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees,” he said.
Johnson, whose government hosted the summit, said the nations of the world were invited to come together for the planet, and they responded to the appeal.
– I hope we can look at Cop26 as the beginning of the end for climate change, and I will continue to work without a break for that goal, he promised.
– Not impressed
The major international environmental organizations are not impressed by the final declaration from the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow. Too weak, says Greenpeace.
– It is modest, it is weak, and the 1.5 degree goal is only barely alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is coming to an end, says Jennifer Morgan, director of Greenpeace International.
– Young people who have grown up during the climate crisis will not find themselves in very many more closing statements like this. Why should they, when it is their own future they are fighting for, she says.
Tanya Steele, director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), says that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees has become the guiding star we all follow, but that the road there is still very uncertain, and there is a long way to go.
Gabriela Bucher of Oxfam says that “it is obvious that some of the world’s leaders do not think they live on the same planet as the rest of us.”
– It seems that no amount of fires, rising sea levels or drought is enough to make them make sense so they stop the increasing emissions that are happening at the expense of humanity, she says.
But she is happy with the decision to strengthen the 2030 goal of cuts next year. She says the large emitting countries, especially the rich countries, must adjust their targets so we can keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees alive.
– A death sentence
Many of Glasgow’s developing countries are very disappointed that there was no agreement on more financial support for poor countries hard hit by climate change.
– The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees is a death sentence for us, says Aminath Shauna, Minister of Climate and Environment in the Maldives. The island state risks large areas being flooded when the sea rises in step with global warming.
Although the Glasgow agreement will not stop climate change, greater progress was made at the meeting than at many similar meetings in the past.
In addition to the “phasing out” of coal power, the final declaration calls for the phasing out of inefficient subsidies for fossil energy. This is the first time fossil energy has been mentioned at all in a closing statement from one of the UN climate meetings.
About 130 heads of state and government were present in the first days of the meeting. They launched a number of new targets for emission cuts and other measures to slow down climate change.
–
