Final agreement in Glasgow. These are the 12 most important points.
Global quota system is in place. The use of coal must phase out and subsidies for fossil energy must disappear – eventually.
(GLASGOW): It sharpened sharply in the wake of the climate summit in Glasgow. When final documents and new rules for the Paris Agreement were to be adopted and a text was ready, both China and India demanded adjustments.
India stands its ground and gave the summit almost an ultimatum: Either the text changes on a significant point, otherwise we say no. If India had said no, the whole outcome of the summit would have been nothing.
Therefore, the text was changed in the back room just before the vote that coal energy should phases out to use shall phases down. Subsidies of fossil energy must, however phases out. India’s change is a weakening of the final declaration, and many countries were furious – not least because the changes were fixed in the back room between India and the British presidency after the negotiations were actually over.
– We do not have to phase out fossil energy, we must phase it out, so a clear angry and irritated climate broadcast from Switzerland.
EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmerman was also disappointed. – But we will not give up, we will fight to remove coal power and fossil subsidies in the years to come, he said.
A clearly marked Cop26 president Alok Sharma spoke: – It is vital that we protect this agreement, he said clearly affected.
For a moment he collapsed and took to his eyes before continuing to end the meeting.
Far out towards China
The speeches of China and India at the very end of the vote caused, among others, EU Vice President Frans Timmerman to strike back strongly:
– For God’s sake, say yes to this text so we can give hope to our child and grandson. I want you in this room to think of one person you know who will live in 2030 and what will happen if we do not manage to stand warming at 1.5 degrees, said Timmerman.
Representatives of many countries said they support the final documents, although they are far from satisfied. Most people thought the text and the new points in the regulations for Paris agreements are not perfect, but that they can live with the result. A real political answer to the fact that world emissions must be halved in the next eight years, is not the text.
Any on global allowance trading
Climate Minister Espen Barth Eide (Labor Party) managed what he came to Glasgow to do. Finally, 195 countries accepted the rules for global quota trading.
This means that the world has a new effective tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by one or more countries being able to work together to make it happen – without counting the emission cuts twice.
US climate envoy John Kerry believed that the text was voted on will bring climate work more steps forward.
What was agreed in Glasgow is not a legally binding agreement. It is a final declaration, a plan for further handling and further negotiations in the years to come. But it is up to each country to choose whether they want to implement what is in the text.
This is what they have become the only ones in Glasgow:
The final statement:
1) Global warming must be at 1.5 degrees.
It is a tightening of the Paris Agreement’s target of «2, preferably 1.5 degrees».
But the nations of the world have not agreed on strong enough measures to achieve this goal. With new national climate goals presented in Glasgow, we are now in control against 2.4 degrees this century. If you count on the results of voluntary but non-binding agreements and initiatives between groups of countries, 2.1 degrees is within reach. If everything is returned to the letter.
2) Accepts science
All climate policy and all climate measures must be based on «the best available science». That sounds natural, but for decades many countries have refused to refer to climate science in the UN context. Therefore, it is a step forward.
3) Must phase out «inefficient subsidization» of fossil energy
Government subsidies for coal, oil and gas must be phased out. Men carried «ineffective subsidies», at the request of Australia, India, Russia and China. The subsidy is massive today. World states subsidize fossil energy by as much as $ 11 million every single minute. No one knows how much of this is “ineffective”.
4) Stop using coal power
The country of the world «accepts» that coal without CO₂ capture («unrestrained coal») does not have a place in future energy production. According to India’s requirements, the final declaration states that the use of coal must be phased out. But it does not say a word about when this should happen, so the real difference is not that big. The text is also not legally binding.
The point is nevertheless historic. This is the first time coal has been mentioned that way.
5) More money for developing countries.
The world’s rich countries commit to considering doubling climate support to the world’s poor countries by 2025.
Already at the climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009, the world rich country promised to transfer $ 100 billion a year in climate aid to poor countries. The promise was renewed in 2015, to reach agreement on the Paris Agreement.
Only next year should the goal be used. Many developing countries believe this is a gross breach of trust.
Improvements to the Paris Agreement:
6) Global trade in climate quotas
The country of the world has agreed on the general Article 6 in Paris.
This means that two or more countries can create a common quota and use the result of it for promise markets on emission reductions in Paris agreements, as the EU and Norway have already done on their own.
This will lead to real emission reductions, partly because up to a percentage of the quotas are withdrawn and eliminated every time a trade in addition.
There is agreement on clear rules to prevent double counting of emission reductions. This means that if one country pays for emission reductions in another, both countries will not be able to claim the gain in their climate accounts to the Paris Agreement.
Limitation in how many old emission quotas can be included in the accounts for emission cuts after 2020.
This is because quota trading is an effective method of pushing down emissions when it works according to clear rules. Releasing a lot costs a lot, releasing a little costs little.
Promises from individual countries:
7) The emissions need to be cut faster, but not fast enough
The country of the world promises to update its emission reduction plans by the end of 2022.
120 countries have sharpened their promises to cut emissions before and during the Glasgow summit.
The UN Climate Panel says emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 to meet the 1.5 degree target. Anything above that will cause dangerous climate change.
Before the Glasgow meeting, the world’s country promised emission cuts that, if implemented, would limit global warming to 2.8 degrees.
The world’s most recognized emissions analysts in Climate Action Tracker (CAT) says that today’s climate promises will slow down the warming of approx. 2.4 degrees. If they are performed.
All promises of emission cuts included in the Paris Agreement are voluntary. Just a few countries have made them binding laws in their home country.
Agreements between groups of countries:
8) The rainforests must be saved
Heads of state and government from more than 100 countries have loved stopping the destruction of the rainforest by 2030. The countries have more than 85 percent of the world’s forests within their borders.
12 of the countries love to contribute more than 100 billion kroner over the next eight years.
Indonesia, the world’s third largest rainforest country, has since partially withdrawn. They have said the statement is too ambitious and unfair that the country will manage it.
9) Large cuts in methane emissions
In a joint agreement, 100 countries have promised to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Methane is many times as powerful greenhouse gas as CO₂. Large emitting countries such as China, Russia and India are not included.
10) The use of coal must be cut
More than 40 countries that use coal to electricity generation have loved ended with this by 2030. Poor country can wait until 2040.
Coal burning accounts for 37 percent of the world’s electricity production, and is the largest source of CO emissions. Large coal consumers such as Poland, Chile and Vietnam signed.
The United States and China have not signed. China stands for half of the world’s coal burning. India 11 percent and the United States 8.5 percent.
11) China and the United States must work closely together
The US and China have formally picked up the thread from before Paris in 2015, and decided to work together on both climate policy and climate technology. The two countries account for 45 percent of world emissions.
12) Banks should say no more often
30 of the world’s largest financial institutions have promised that they will no longer provide loans or credits to companies that conduct deforestation in the rainforest. 450 store financial institutions, which together manage more than $ 130 trillion, has promised to shift funding from oil and coal to renewable energy.
In an earlier version of this article, where that India was changed the text on subsidies for fossil energy to it should phase out, as they got with the use of coal. That is not correct. The final statement states that the sbusidians must phase out. Article was amended November 13, 2021, at 11:30 p.m.