{"id":144350,"date":"2021-11-11T02:27:16","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T02:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=144350"},"modified":"2021-11-11T02:27:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T02:27:16","slug":"carbon-copy-draft-cop26-text-mentions-fossil-fuels-for-first-time-in-history-of-un-climate-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/carbon-copy-draft-cop26-text-mentions-fossil-fuels-for-first-time-in-history-of-un-climate-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Carbon Copy: Draft COP26 text mentions fossil fuels for first time in history of UN climate talks"},"content":{"rendered":"
GLASGOW – It’s day 10 and everyone can sense COP26 talks are in the final stretch. Early on Wednesday (Nov 10), the British hosts of the conference released the first draft of the conference conclusion.<\/p>\n
The cover text, which reflects the views of negotiators in Glasgow, gives the first clues as to what a deal might look like. The draft will now be discussed and debated by delegates from nearly 200 nations.<\/p>\n
There is every chance parts of the draft text will change over the course of the next two to three days. That’s normal in climate talks as nations press their demands and work to a compromise. In the end, there must be consensus from all nations for any final set of decisions to be adopted.<\/p>\n
Any decisions taken at COP26 would help implement the Paris Agreement, the world’s main climate treaty, which enshrines temperature targets for nearly 200 nations to well below 2 deg C above pre-industrial levels and aims for 1.5 deg C if possible.<\/p>\n
Developing nations are unhappy about some aspects of the draft text, including fuzzy language around finance to help them green their economies and adapt to climate impacts. There’s not enough clarity on the amount and source of the climate cash or how it will be mobilised.<\/p>\n
For example, the text “notes with regret” that the goal of developed countries to contribute US$100 billion (S$135 billion) per year by 2020 to poorer nations has not yet been met. It does mention the growing financial needs of developing countries, in particular due to the increasing impacts of climate change and increased indebtedness, and calls for greater financial support for them.<\/p>\n
Other elements, though, may be grounds for some cautious optimism.<\/p>\n
Here’s a short rundown on some of the key areas in the new text, which could prove crucial in determining the final outcome of COP26.<\/p>\n
For the first time in the nearly 30-year history of the UN climate conferences, the term “fossil fuels” has emerged in the draft cover text, with nations “called upon” to accelerate the phasing out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
Director of climate group Powershift Africa Mohamed Adow told a press conference on Wednesday: “For the first time, we now have a COP text that explicitly calls for the phasing out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies, and that is a welcome step.”<\/p>\n