Thanasis Gavos, London
The negotiations of the national delegations at the UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow are extended on Saturday, as no agreement on critical issues was reached within the schedule of the conference.
Late Friday, COP26 President Alok Sarma announced that the special overnight meeting of the plenary of the national missions had been canceled, so that there would be no delay in the individual negotiations.
According to Mr. Sarma, new texts of decisions will emerge overnight and will be made public on Saturday morning. There will then be a brief informal plenary session, no earlier than 10 a.m. local time, to discuss the new texts.
Mr Sarma will make an assessment of progress and recommend further steps. He then hopes that an official plenary session will be convened on Saturday afternoon for the adoption of the final texts and the completion of COP26.
An indication of how difficult the negotiations are was given by the statement of the chief negotiator of Saudi Arabia, Ayman Shasli, in Sky News, when he described as unacceptable the wording in the second draft of the text of decisions on phasing out coal use and financing of mineral projects.
The draft final declaration also calls on governments to submit, by 2022, three years ahead of schedule for the Paris Climate Agreement, enhanced plans to reduce emissions over the current decade.
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