Status: 11/10/2021 2:47 p.m.
The first draft of a final declaration of the World Climate Conference is on the table. It contains many declarations of intent – and little concrete. Environmental activists criticized the paper as “completely inadequate”.
A few days before the end of the World Climate Conference in Glasgow, the British conference presidency published a draft final declaration. However, this did not contain any specific agreements on the central goals of the summit, which the United Nations had set out at the beginning.
Instead, it says it is concerned and alarmed about global warming and calls for emissions of harmful greenhouse gases to be reduced by 45 percent compared to 2010 levels by 2030.
The draft refers to the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial age. This requires “significant and effective action on all sides in this crucial decade”.
Little concrete to be found in the draft
What is needed are “a rapid, deep and sustainable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” the document goes on to say. The states are therefore called upon to “reconsider and strengthen” their plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2022 and not until 2025.
The document also includes a call for climate neutrality by the middle of the century. Industrialized countries are being “urged” to compensate developing countries for “losses and damage” – a phrase that is displeased by some rich countries.
Furthermore, the draft calls for “the phase-out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels” to be promoted. However, there is no explicit mention of an end to the use of oil and gas.
Sharp criticism from environmental activists
The environmental organization Greenpeace called the British draft completely inadequate. “This paper is not a plan to defuse the climate crisis,” said Greenpeace boss Jennifer Morgan. “It is an agreement that we all keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. It is a polite request that maybe, possibly, states do more in the next year.”
The climate expert of the aid organization Care, Sven Harmeling, said that the draft text of the COP presidency contains many important points, but not in such a way “that it is really ensured that concrete next steps have to be taken”. It is now important “that the Glasgow COP accelerates the further phase-out of fossil fuels,” said Harmeling. For this, “the next 24, 36 hours are crucial”.
“At the moment there are a lot of things on the table that could help bring the conference to a successful conclusion. But an extremely large amount can also be lost,” warned the care expert.
Environment ministers are fighting for a draft
Jan Kowalzig from the Oxfam aid organization described the state of negotiations in Glasgow as “too weak as a basis for a real breakthrough”. Although there are “some positive steps” in measures against global warming, when dealing with losses and damage as a result of climate change, “the needs of the poorer and particularly affected countries remain criminally neglected”.
Over the next few days, the environmental ministers of the states will wrestle over the draft. The conference is actually scheduled to end on Friday. However, there are many more questions to be answered that the draft does not answer. This includes the question of support for the poorer countries, especially after 2025, and the standards for trading emissions rights between countries. There are also still no regulations on how the various climate targets can be made comparable.