Draft uses weaker language than a previous one in asking nations to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels that are the prime cause of global warming
Picture: REUTERS/MIKE HUTCHINGSA new draft C drawn up for the last scheduled day of the UN climate conference in Glasgow on Friday presses countries to reach higher in their plans to tackle global warming but also tries to balance the demands of developing and richer nations.
The conference set out with a core aim: to keep alive the 2015 Paris Agreement’s aspirational target to cap global warming at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and so avoid the worst affects of climate change. The new draft is a balancing act — trying to take in the demands of both climate-vulnerable nations and large economies reliant on fossil fuels.The retention of a pledge for countries to upgrade their climate targets in 2022 will be welcomed by poorer nations that want more action to tackle worsening floods and wildfires and rising sea levels.
“We need to see what stands, what holds and how it looks in the end — but at the moment it’s looking in a positive direction.” After nearly two weeks of talks, the almost 200 countries represented at COP26 also remain at odds on a range of other issues.