Cop26 news: Boris Johnson says pact ‘sounds death knell for coal’ but admits disappointment at pledges

A number of charities and NGOs have reacted to the Glasgow Climate Pact, with many expressing disappointment at the outcome of Cop26.

Greenpeace

Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, said: “It’s meek, it’s weak and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending - and that matters.

“While the deal recognises the need for deep emissions cuts this decade, those commitments have been punted to next year.

“Young people who’ve come of age in the climate crisis won’t tolerate many more outcomes like this. Why should they when they’re fighting for their futures?”

WWF

Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF, said: “This summit has seen the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C become the North Star guiding us all but a clear pathway is far from certain and we still have a long way to go.

“We are encouraged by the recognition that nature must be an integral part of tackling the climate crisis and by commitments on curbing coal and fossil fuel subsidies.”

She added: “We now need to see delivery with rapid, deep and ongoing emissions cuts alongside support for vulnerable countries facing current and future climate impacts.”

Oxfam

Gabriela Bucher, international executive director of Oxfam, said: “Clearly some world leaders think they aren’t living on the same planet as the rest of us.

“It seems no amount of fires, rising sea levels or droughts will bring them to their senses to stop increasing emissions at the expense of humanity.”

But she welcomed the decision to strengthen 2030 reduction targets by next year: “Big emitters, especially rich countries, must heed the call and align their targets to give us the best possible chance of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach.”

Friends of the Earth

Rachel Kennerley, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “The road to 1.5 just got harder when these talks should have cleared the way to making it a whole lot easier.”

“The UK government cunningly curated announcements throughout this fortnight so that it seemed rapid progress was being made.”

She added: “Here we are though, and the Glasgow get-out clause means that leaders failed to phase out fossil fuels and the richest countries won’t pay historic climate debt.”

PA

The Glasgow Climate Pact has garnered much disappointment from politicians, NGOs and countries themselves after last-minute talks led to the wording on coal being watered down.

Our reporters Andrew Woodcock, Louise Boyle and Daisy Dunne have the full breakdown:

Addressing the audience at Cop26, John Kerry said that Glasgow was “not the finish line,” but the “start of the race.”

The US climate envoy said that the Glasgow Climate Pact has brought us “closer than we have ever been before to avoiding climate chaos and securing cleaner air, safer water and a healthier planet.”

Comparing the Pact to the Paris Agreement he said: “Paris was…not a guarantee that we would be able to hold the earth’s temperature rise to well below 2C, let alone 1.5C.

“But now, here in Glasgow, we have 65 percent of global GDP committed to real plans.”

Addressing the issue of coal, he said: “As a result of what took place here with nations who had never considered even having the word coal in a plan, it remains even today after what took place, the phasedown of coal is on the books.

“You have to phase down coal before you can ‘end coal,’ so this is the beginning of something.”

The wording of the new Glasgow Pact might not seem controversial to the uninitiated, but they have been subject to months - and in some cases years - of legal wrangling.

Here are some of the key elements of the agreement:

Expresses “alarm and utmost concern” at the fact human activities have caused around 1.1C of warming, and that the Earth’s remaining “carbon budget” consistent with 1.5C is being “rapidly depleted”.

• Stresses the “urgency of enhancing ambition and action” in the 2020s to have any hope of meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

• Calls up parties to “phase down” unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

• Invites parties “to consider” further action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, at a greater rate by 2030.

• Expresses “deep regret” that the goal of developed countries to mobilise 100 US dollars a year by 2020 for developing countries to tackle climate change has not been met.

• Urges developed countries to fully deliver on the 100 billion US dollars goal urgently and through to 2025.

• A new post-2025 long term finance goal for climate finance for developing countries will be negotiated from 2022 and set in 2024 under the proposals.

• Reiterates the “urgency of scaling up action and support, including finance” to developing countries to help them “avert, minimise and address” loss and damage associated with climate change.

• Emphasises the importance of “protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems” to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting warming to 1.5C and well below 2C.

• Recognises the role of “indigenous peoples, local communities and civil society, including youth and children” in addressing and responding to climate change.

PA

In a tweet, Extinction Rebellion activists wrote: “#COP26 has failed us - humanity’s future is sinking fast.

“There are no lifeboats on our planet.”

There has been a lot of attention on the fact India objected to the Cop26 deal promising to "phase out" coal, instead amending the language to "phase down", and the country will inevitably face criticism in the coming days for its stance.

But experts also note that, with as much as 70 per cent of India's energy currently coming from coal, such a commitment was seen by New Delhi as putting an unfair constriction on the country's ability to develop and bring its citizens out of poverty.

Ulka Kelkar, climate programme director at the World Resources Institute India, explains this stance and the next steps for the country after Glasgow:

“India will be affected by COP26 asking countries to phase out polluting coal power and withdraw inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. India will also have to join other countries to escalate emission reduction actions more frequently. This will not be easy for a lower-middle income country that is trying to lift millions of people out of poverty. 

“India’s battle against climate change will be led by scaling up renewable energy, which will be the foundation of our net zero future; by industry, who will fight to stay competitive in the global economy; and by states and cities, who will need to urbanise with respect for nature. 

“Now that COP-26 has finalised the rules of carbon trading, India will be able to sell more than a million carbon credits from previous years, and can also create a domestic market for carbon trading.”

Environmental ministers and activists have called the final outcome of Cop26 disappointing, as they cited the ongoing destruction in their communities as a result of global warming.

“Even if leaders stuck to the promises they have made here in Glasgow, it would not prevent the destruction of communities like mine. Right now, at 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming, drought and flooding are killing people in Uganda,” said Fridays for Future activist Vanessa Nakate.

Nakate, who is from Uganda, said that “only immediate, drastic emissions cuts will give us hope of safety”.

Maldives’s environment minister Shauna Aminath, while noting the incremental progress, said that the outcome of COP26 does not “bring hope to our hearts”.

And Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International, said: “It’s meek, it’s weak and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters. “Glasgow was meant to deliver on firmly closing the gap to 1.5C and that didn’thappen, but in 2022 nations will now have to come back with stronger targets.

“The only reason we got what we did is because young people, Indigenous leaders, activists and countries on the climate frontline forced concessions that were grudgingly given.”

Speaking on Sunday after the conclusion of COP26, Australian ministers said that their target of reducing greenhouse emissions by 28 per cent by 2030 has been “fixed” and will not be amended in the wake of the summit. Foreign minister Marise Payne and energy minister Angus Taylor said that “Australia’s 2030 target is fixed and we are committed to meeting and beating it,” in a joint statement. Australia’s health minister and former environment minister Greg Hunt was asked in an interview on ABC’s Insiders programme if the Australian government will update its target. In an indirect response, Mr Hunt said the country has set its target but “what we’ll continue to do is update our projections”. When prodded to explain, the minister paraphrased Shakespeare’s Henry IV to suggest Australia planned to beat the 28 per cent emissions cut but would not commit to it now. “I never promised to pay thee, but now that I’m here, I’ll pay thee double”, the minister said. “It means under-promise and over-deliver.”

In case you missed it...

The Cop26 climate summit has finally concluded after nations agreed to a landmark deal aimed at preventing catastrophic global warming.

Talks dragged on for more than 24 hours after the Glasgow conference was due to end amid intense negotiations over contentious issues like fossil fuel subsidies, emission-reduction timelines and climate finance for developing nations.

Louise Boyle, Daisy Dunne and Andrew Woodcock have the full story here:

A NASA climate scientist has shared his disdain on Twitter for the Cop26 process, saying he wishes he could “make the world realise what an emergency we are truly in.”

Peter Kalmus, also founder of the Climate Ad Project, took the opportunity to take swipe at scientists, commentators and NGOs for “patting” world leaders on the back following the release of the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those to retweet Mr Kalmus’ words amid growing accusations being made against world leaders for failing to live up to the scale of the threat from climate change.

He wrote: “If world leaders think COP26 was “a good step” because too many climate scientists, commentators, NGO leaders spin it and pat them on the back, then we’d have a double failure. We are out of time, folks.

“I wish I could make the world realize what an emergency we are truly in.”