“The world is watching us. On the eve of the official end of the crucial Glasgow climate conference, the British presidency of COP26 called for “compromise” to avoid failure, while scientists demanded strong and immediate action.
The first version of the final decision published on Wednesday is not unanimous, far from it, and the negotiators of some 200 countries meeting in Glasgow since October 31 still have work to do until Friday 6 p.m., theoretical end of the meeting, which is likely to continue beyond.
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” COP26 President Alok Sharma admitted Thursday. “I am worried about the number of problems that persist on finance issues on the eve of the planned end,” he added, calling for both “ambition” and “compromises”.
“As I said yesterday, the world is watching us and would like to see us work together and come to a consensus. And we can’t let it go. “
Despite the new commitments for the 2030 deadline announced just before and since the start of the COP, the world is still heading towards a “catastrophic” warming of + 2.7 ° C, according to the UN. Far from the objectives of the Paris agreement to limit the rise in temperature “well below” of + 2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era, if possible to +1.5 ° C.
It is moreover this alarming observation that more than 200 climatologists wanted to underline Thursday in an open letter in which they wonder in substance if the clear warnings of science have been heard.
“COP26 is a historic moment for the fate of the climate, societies and ecosystems”, they stressed, calling for “immediate, strong, rapid, sustainable and large-scale actions” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. tight.
“Not the same responsibility”
The last report of the UN climate experts (IPCC) in August warned in particular against the risk of already reaching around 2030 the threshold of +1.5 ° C, ten years earlier than previously estimated. A grim outlook as each tenth of a degree more brings its share of additional disasters.
The first draft final declaration of COP26 put on the table by the British insists on the need to strengthen the ambition to respect the Paris agreement and asks countries that have not done so to submit new strengthened commitments in 2022.
But the project, a second version of which is scheduled by Friday morning, received a mixed reception, especially from poor countries who believe that their concerns are not taken into account, especially in terms of financial assistance.
At the heart of this explosive question, the broken promise of rich countries to increase their climate aid to southern countries to 100 billion dollars per year from 2020.
Certain countries of the South also denounce the demands of the developed world, responsible for global warming, on the developing world, on the front line in the face of its consequences.
“We don’t have the same responsibility […]. They should take the initiative and do their duty ”against global warming, pleaded Thursday the Bolivian Diego Pacheco on behalf of the LMDC group, which represents developing and emerging countries, including China.
In the midst of all these obstacles on the road to a success of a crucial COP in an attempt to keep the +1.5 ° C target “alive”, the surprise announcement Wednesday by the United States and China d an agreement to step up their climate action has brought a glimmer of hope.
“Beyond the COP, it’s important for the world,” European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans told AFP.
“It helps create a better atmosphere,” he added. “But we still have a lot of work to do […] and many countries have demands. We have to make sure that everyone supports an agreement which must also be very ambitious if we are to preserve [celui de] Paris “.