The outcome of COP26 – the Glasgow Climate Pact – is the fruit of intense negotiations among almost 200 countries over two weeks, strenuous formal and informal work over many months, and constant engagement both in-person and virtually for nearly two years. What was agreed?
Recognizing the emergency
Countries reaffirmed the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. And they went further, expressing “alarm and utmost concern that human activities have caused around 1.1°C of warming to date, that impacts are already being felt in every region, and that carbon budgets consistent with achieving the Paris Agreement temperature goal are now small and being rapidly depleted.” They recognized that the impacts of climate change will be much lower at a temperature increase of 1.5°C compared with 2°C.
Accelerating action
Countries stressed the urgency of action “in this critical decade,” when carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced by 45 percent to reach net zero around mid-century. But with present climate plans – the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — falling far short on ambition, the Glasgow Climate Pact calls on all countries to present stronger national action plans next year, instead of in 2025, which was the original timeline. Countries also called on UNFCCC to do an annual NDC Synthesis Report to gauge the present level of ambition.
Moving away from fossil fuels
In perhaps the most contested decision in Glasgow, countries ultimately agreed to a provision calling for a phase-down of coal power and a phase-out of “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, two key issues that had never been explicitly mentioned in decisions of UN climate talks before, despite coal, oil, and gas being the main drivers of global warming. Many countries, and NGOs, expressed dissatisfaction that the language on coal was significantly weakened (from phase-out to phase-down) and, consequently, was not as ambitious as it needs to be.
Delivering on climate finance
Developed countries came to Glasgow falling short on their promise to deliver US$100 billion a year for developing countries. Voicing “regret,” the Glasgow outcome reaffirms the pledge and urges developed countries to fully deliver on the US$100 billion goal urgently. Developed countries, in the report, expressed confidence that the target would be met in 2023.
Stepping up support for adaptation
The Glasgow Pact calls for a doubling of finance to support developing countries in adapting to the impacts of climate change and building resilience. This won’t provide all the funding that poorer countries need, but it would significantly increase finance for protecting lives and livelihoods, which so far made up only about 25 percent of all climate finance (with 75 per cent going towards green technologies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions). Glasgow also established a work program to define a global goal on adaptation, which will identify collective needs and solutions to the climate crisis already affecting many countries.
Completing the Paris rulebook
Countries reached agreement on the remaining issues of the so-called Paris rulebook, the operational details for the practical implementation of the Paris Agreement. Among them are norms related to carbon markets, which will allow countries struggling to meet their emissions targets to purchase emissions reductions from other nations that have already exceeded their targets. Negotiations were also concluded on an Enhanced Transparency Framework, providing for common timeframes and agreed formats for countries to regularly report on progress, designed to build trust and confidence that all countries are contributing their share to the global effort.
Focusing on loss and damage
Acknowledging that climate change is having increasing impacts on people especially in the developing world, countries agreed to strengthen the network, known as the Santiago Network, that connects vulnerable countries with providers of technical assistance, knowledge, and resources to address climate risks. They also launched a new “Glasgow dialogue” to discuss arrangements for funding activities to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change.
For more details on the COP26 agreements, as well as the official announcements, please check out the Glasgow Climate Pact original text here:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma3_auv_2_cover%2520decision.pdf