An imperfect deal, but a historic deal was announced on Saturday afternoon at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. For the first time in the history of these international conferences, an official text recognizes the role of fossil fuels in global warming.
UK COP26 President Alok Sharma made the announcement after two weeks of intense negotiations that culminated in the past 48 hours. The text will henceforth be known as the Glasgow Climate Pact (Glasgow Climate Pact in English).
While negotiators from some 200 countries have finally reached an agreement, its success will nonetheless be measured in concrete reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the next few years. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 415.72 parts per million, according to the latest official reading on Friday, well above the limit needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
At the last minute, India called for an amendment to narrow the scope of the text on coal. Rather, it will be a question of “reducing” the use of coal rather than “phasing out” its use. Remember that almost half of the energy production in this country comes from coal.
Although the proposal seemed to displease many nations, it was adopted without “official” objection from other nations.
In plenary session on Saturday morning, the majority of nations gave their support to the text proposed by the presidency, despite still many disagreements. Alok Sharma also insisted on the fact that although imperfect, the text allows to keep alive the objective of limiting the warming to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era.
The agreement is a step forward compared to the Paris Agreement when it stipulates in particular that “the impacts of climate change will be less significant with a warming of 1.5 degrees compared to 2 degrees and that efforts must be maintained to limit heating to 1.5 degrees ”.
The agreement also recognizes the importance of reducing CO emissions2 of 45% compared to the level of 2010, and this, by 2030 in order to contain the warming to the famous 1.5 degrees.
According to the most recent analysis by the Climate Action Tracker, the commitments announced to date would limit warming to 2.4 degrees by 2100, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates a warming of 1 , 8 degree.
It is the representative of Guatemala who in a way best summed up the issue during the plenary preceding the announcement by recalling that “you can see the glass half empty or half full, but I prefer to see it half. full “.
Mixed reactions
The reactions were quick as soon as the agreement was announced. Several environmental groups have severely criticized the agreement. But according to the chairman of the Carbon Tracker, Mark Campanale, the Glasgow Pact could nonetheless prove to be a turning point.
“There are a lot of good ones, bad ones, several pieces missing and, without a doubt, there is still a lot to be done to build on a deal that could prove to be a turning point. This is especially true if governments can come back next year, and the following year, with more ambitious emissions targets, ”the London-based NGO boss wrote on Twitter.
“It’s watered down, it’s weak and the 1.5 ° C target is barely alive, but a signal has been sent: the era of coal is over. And that matters, ”said the executive director of Greenpeace International in a statement.
“While the agreement recognizes the need to dramatically reduce emissions in this decade, those commitments have been postponed until next year. Young people who grew up with the climate crisis will no longer tolerate this type of outcome. Why would they do it when they are fighting for their future? She added.