In the final stretch of the negotiations at the UN summit in Glasgow, the joint announcement by China and the United States, the first and second countries that emit the most CO2, respectively, instilled optimism with a view to reaching an agreement on Friday that would make the goal of curbing climate change. The two great powers issued a statement committing to “strengthen climate action in the 2020s (…) to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement “, to limit the advance of temperatures at the end of the century below 2 degrees Celsius and to try not to exceed 1.5 ºC, announced at a press conference on Chinese negotiator, Xie Zhenhua.
“The two largest economies in the world have agreed to work together,” United States special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, told a news conference. The announcement turned the final stretch of the negotiations upside down, firstly because it adds to the efforts of China, which until now had kept a low profile at COP26, and secondly because aims to accelerate decarbonization in the present decade, in the short term, as a path to get rid of CO2 in the middle of the century.
Washington and Beijing recognize “the urgency and severity of the climate crisis” and commit “individually, jointly and with other countries during this decisive decade, according to different national circumstances”, to work to avoid the “catastrophic effects” of the crisis. They also mention different areas in which to work, from the deployment of renewable energies and clean technologies, to cutting methane emissions, the fight against illegal deforestation or the promotion of the circular economy.
The statement, which came as a surprise and was applauded by the United Nations Secretary General, Antònio Guterres, and the Vice President of the European Commission for the Green Pact, Frans Timmermans, is known on the same day that the British presidency of COP26 presented a new draft agreement to work on until Friday.
Achieving that goal requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions “
Different sources involved in the negotiation indicated that this text, which urges countries to present renewed commitments by 2030 in 2022, leaves room for optimism in the face of a deal final development of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The presidency’s proposal also recognizes that achieving this goal “requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions” and mentions the need to phase out carbon and “fossil fuel subsidies.”
Rich countries fail to commit to those with fewer resources
The text has been also rated as moderately positive by NGOs, who criticize, however, that do not expressly quote oil and gas, and point out that Saudi Arabia has blocked a more ambitious wording. “There is a desire to reach an agreement,” a source from the negotiation told Efe about the draft, who believes that progress will be made in some aspects but it will be difficult to reach a financing commitment.
The wealthiest countries have defaulted on their promise to transfer $ 100 billion (almost 87,000 million euros) per year to poor countries to help them in the climate fight between 2020 and 2025. In the first fiscal year, only $ 79.6 billion was reached and the gap is not expected to close before 2022 or 2023. Now it is seeking to design financing from 2025, where The problems are not so much in the amount or in the concepts – mitigation, adaptation or losses and damages – but in the mechanisms to channel the money and verify the deliveries, according to the same source, which makes the British hosts ugly not to have worked before that complex technical aspect.
For her part, the third vice president of the Spanish Government, Teresa Ribera, commented that “It is a very interesting starting point that I trust will be improved these days.To achieve that final push, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has modified his schedule to travel from London to Glasgow, where he has said that the world would find “absolutely incomprehensible” that a roadmap does not come out of COP26. well defined to give continuity to the Paris Agreement of 2015, with solutions this decade.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
