"GLASGOW, Scotland — COP26 organizers released a preliminary draft early Wednesday of an agreement on how countries will work together to curb climate change. The language will evolve over the course of the final days of the conference, and it contains several provisions that are likely to be contentious.
The draft seeks to speed up emissions cuts. Noting that current national pledges are insufficient to avert catastrophic warming, the draft urges countries to update their formal carbon-cutting goals before the end of 2022 — especially those countries that have not adopted more ambitious targets since the Paris agreement was signed six years ago.
The text calls on participants in the agreement to phase out coal and subsidies for fossil fuels. Neither “coal” nor “fossil fuels” more generally were mentioned in the landmark Paris agreement.
The draft “reaffirms” the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursuing a target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, but it does not commit to meeting the 1.5 threshold — which scientists and vulnerable countries increasingly say the world cannot afford to miss."
Brady Dennis, Steven Mufson, and Sarah Kaplan report for the Washington Post November 9, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"Little Time, But ‘Mountain To Climb’ at UN Climate Talks" (AP)
"Analyses Find Paris Target Out Of Reach Under Current Pledges" (The Hill)
"Despite COP26 Pledges, World Still On Track For Dire Warming" (Washington Post)
"With Taiwan Blocked From U.N. Climate Talks, Its Emissions Go Uncounted" (Washington Post)
"World Can Only Avoid Climate Catastrophe If New Climate Promises Are Kept" (Bloomberg Green)
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