UN climate agency publishes draft of final Glasgow COP26 deal

The United Nations climate agency has published a first draft (PDF) of the political decision countries will issue at the end of the COP26 summit. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries will work from the draft released on Wednesday to strike a final deal before the summit ends on Friday. The first draft of the “COP cover decision” asks countries to “revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their nationally determined contributions, as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022.” The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, set the goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. For the first time, the draft calls for countries to phase out coal and fossil fuel subsidies. It also calls for a “just transitions to net zero emissions” and emphasised the importance of of scaled-up financial resources, taking into account the needs of developing countries vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The outcome is being closely watched for what it might commit countries to do to bridge the gap between their current climate targets and the more ambitious action scientists say is needed to avert disastrous levels of warming. Big divisions remain as countries barter over the fine details. Among them are disagreements over carbon market rules, the timeline for updating emissions-cutting pledges and payments to climate-vulnerable nations. Meanwhile, a raft of announcements is expected on the greening of transportation. Emissions from the transportation sector account for about 24% of global emissions. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged countries overnight to “put aside differences and come together for our planet and our people”. He was expected to travel on Wednesday from London back to the conference to meet with national and civil society negotiators together with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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UN climate agency publishes draft of final Glasgow COP26 deal