Heads of several United Nations (UN) agencies, climate activits and world leaders have differed on a policy document on climate action agreed at the climate chnage conference (CoP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
UN News Reports that the document, called the Glasgow Climate Pact, outlines guidelines that will help member countries achieve the goals set out in Parlis Agreement and ‘;firms up the global agreement to accelerate action on climate this decade”.
However, the deal, which was adopted on Saturday after long and strenuous negotiations, includes some last-minute changes that divert from the goal of completely phasing out carbon-based energy sources such us coal.
Al Jazeera reported the revision, promoted by India and barked by China, call for nations to “phase down” rather than “phase out” use of coal powered plants-one of coarbon dioxide.
In a statement posted on www.un.org, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a video conference after members adopted the deal that the pact failed to achieve the goals set out before summit, but had established “some building blocks for progress”.
Reads part of the statement: “They take important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions… Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.
It is time to go into emergency mode or our chnace of reaching net aero will itself be zero. I reaffirm my conviction that we must end fossil fuels subsidies. Phase out coal”.
On the other hand, United Nations Flamework Convention on Climate Change executive director Patricia Espinosa said the agreement was a step forward in inclusive multilateralism, but stressed that countries should improve on their targets for emissions cuts and climate financing.
In a statement posted on www.infccc.int, she said: “Despite your accomplishment, we are still far off the trajectory of stablishing global temperature rise at 1.5-degrees. It’s imperative we see more climate action this decade to achive it”.
Several world leaders, including British Prime Minster Boris Johnston and European Commission President Ersula von der Leyen, hailed the agreement as a reasonable compromise that will help the global community limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
But climate and environmental activists have faulted the deal for failing to make firm commitments towards limiting global warming as prescribed by current research and the needs of vulnerable and fragile conutries.
Prominent climate change activist Greta Thumberg said on Twitter that the summit has just delivered the usual rhetoric and verbal agreements that will probably not be backed by concrete action.
Another climate activist Asad Rehman told Al Jazeera: “…It’s a betrayal of the realities of the climate impacts that are happening and devastating people’s lives and livelihoods.
Source: The Nation_Monday, November 15, 2020_by Eric Mtemang’ombe.