The COP26 climate conference, in Glasgow, enters this Friday (12) the final stretch with a blockade in negotiations, after two weeks of big announcements by several countries, which were considered insufficient to face the challenge for the future of the medium environment.
“The world is watching us,” British COP26 President Alok Sharma told the assembly of negotiators on Thursday before lengthy meetings resumed on a draft final declaration.
Sharma delegated to Costa Rica’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Andrea Meza, the responsibility for making the final text coherent.
“We have to remain optimistic, we are here to make decisions and we need to make decisions now,” Meza told AFP.
Financing, carbon markets —where countries can buy and sell greenhouse gas emission rights—, the damage and losses caused by climate change, and the level of commitment to the +1.5°C target are the main topics of discussion, according to the negotiating parties.
In the most recent version of the draft, countries were called upon to accelerate their emission reduction plans and present new targets in 2022, three years ahead of schedule.
There was also a specific mention with a call for nations to abandon their dependence on fossil fuels, which would be new in the long history of climate conferences organized by the UN.
In the area of ​​finance, developing countries have already secured a promise from the rich nations, led by Germany and Canada, that in two years they must regularize the amount of US$ 100 billion annually to help mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and , to a lesser extent, to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change.
adaptation gains importance
From 2025 onwards the nearly 200 states represented in Glasgow must establish how much money the most vulnerable countries will need annually, and the first figures are huge.
“We took the set of national commitments, compiled and arrived at the enormous amount of US$ 1.3 trillion per year,” explained Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, negotiator for the Africa group.
“This value was received very difficult, with a lot of resistance,” he admitted.
“There are a number of emerging economies that can no longer be treated as developing countries and these are unresolved negotiations, very geopolitical. This makes the issue of financing so complex,” Meza said.
“Especially funding for adaptation, which is very important for most countries,” he explained.
“We are moving forward,” European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told AFP.
“We are having a completely different conversation than two months ago. Adaptation has moved a lot further on the agenda.”
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