Two days before the close of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, the United States and China issued a joint statement committing to take concrete action by 2030 to limit global warming to 1, 5 degree by the end of the century.
The announcement comes the day after the publication of a draft of a possible final declaration of the international conference which ends on Friday. A more ambitious text than the previous version, but still considered insufficient by many experts.
This last-minute deal between the two superpowers has been hailed by environmental groups. UN Secretary General António Guterres spoke of a “step in the right direction”. Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, also known for his commitment to the fight against climate change, sees it as “significant progress on the part of the most important emitters. [de gaz à effet de serre] in the world “.
The stakes are high since the British presidency of COP26 made the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C one of the main markers of the conference’s success.
The preliminary text of the final declaration also underlines that “the impacts [des] change[s] climatic[s] will be much less with a warming of 1.5 ° C, [comparativement] at 2 ° C ”. But the commitments made to date at COP26 still put the world on the path of 2.7 degrees warming by the end of the century.
“Still good news”
In their joint statement, the United States and China stress the importance of action by the end of the decade, saying they are “alarmed by reports, including the contribution of Working Group I to the sixth assessment report. of the IPCC published on August 9, 2021 ”. They also recognize “the gravity and urgency of the climate crisis” and commit to undertake “respective accelerated actions” in order to avoid “catastrophic impacts”.
Although it is a major breakthrough between two countries that have several political and economic differences, the agreement does not, however, set detailed targets or binding measures to achieve the goals.
The announcement was welcomed by Greenpeace, which stresses that the climate crisis cannot be resolved if the United States and China do not work together to bring emissions below the limit to contain warming to 1.5 ° C.
“It’s still good news when the two biggest polluters decide to have more ambitions. It may have a ripple effect for other countries. It can instill momentum », Underlines Patrick Bonin, in charge of the Climate-Energy campaign at Greenpeace Canada.
“More intransigent” developing countries
However, this agreement does not mean that the final declaration of COP26 will automatically be revised upwards, admits Mr. Bonin. “Decisions are made by consensus, and developing countries have several demands. They are more intransigent, and that is understandable. ”
These nations require, among other things, that greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets be reviewed annually, and not every five years as is currently the case. They also want better funding for rich countries to deal with the climate crisis. There is therefore much to be done to arrive at a final declaration to the satisfaction of the parties.
In the draft press release unveiled Tuesday evening, countries are invited to “revise and strengthen” from 2022 the contributions determined at the national level (CDN or NDC to use the acronym), which set their short-term commitments in order to limit global warming at 1.5 ° C by 2100.
In addition, for the first time in the history of these international conferences, mention is made of fossil fuels. The text encourages countries to “accelerate the phase-out of coal and financing for fossil fuels”, which are responsible for most of the emissions.
The document also calls for “rapid, strong and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reductions in CO emissions.”2 45% in 2030 compared to the 2010 level and carbon neutrality around the middle of the century ”.
The text “notes with regret” the failure of developed countries to keep their promise to mobilize from 2020 some 100 billion dollars in annual climate financial assistance to poor countries, often the least polluting but most exposed to the ravages of change. climatic.
However, he does not put forward a clear solution to achieve this objective, which the rich countries now claim to be able to succeed from 2023.
For the Climate Action Network Canada, which is participating in COP26, the draft texts “fall far short of what is necessary to respond to the emergency we are facing”.
In a note sent to the Canadian Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, the organization asks that Canada work in particular so that all countries increase their ambition and maintain the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C in the region. final declaration at the end of the conference.
2025
The United States and China have pledged to unveil in 2025 their GHG reduction targets for the year 2035.
With Agence France-Presse