The COP26 climate change summit ended with a deal, but it wasn't the deal many have come for. Due to pressure from major coal consumers, the deal struck by world leaders this weekend removed a clause for the phase-out of coal, replacing it with one that will see coal use "phased down".
Also, opinions remain different on how best to achieve the 1.5-degree scenario laid out in the Paris Agreement.
"It is an important step but is not enough. We must accelerate climate action to keep alive the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees", said UN chief Antonio Guterres, as quoted by UN News.
"If it's a good negotiation, all the parties are uncomfortable," U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said during the final meeting of the summit. "And this has been, I think, a good negotiation."
The final meeting ended with the Glasgow Climate Pact, which includes stipulations for reducing subsidies for oil and gas, and the phase-down of coal consumption, under pressure from India and China.
"We are becoming the voice of the developing countries," India's environment minister Bhupender Yadav told Reuters. "We made our effort to make a consensus that is reasonable for developing countries and reasonable for climate justice."
Not everyone was happy with the deal, however.
"We believe we have been side-lined in a non-transparent and non-inclusive process," Mexico's envoy Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama said, as quoted by Reuters. "We all have remaining concerns but were told we could not reopen the text … while others can still ask to water down their promises."
The issue of whether rich nations will financially help developing nations to meet their commitments on climate change is still without a definitive resolution. The summit's delegates have agreed to a stipulation that says finance should come "from all sources to reach the level needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, including significantly increasing support for developing country Parties, beyond $100 billion per year".
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More