The fortnight of COP26 in Glasgow, when the nations gathered to consider Climate Change, turned into 15 days in the end, with negotiations and bargaining continuing till the very end. It was an emotional Alok Sharma, the Chairman, who summarised what the meeting had achieved at the end of the Conference.
The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 was acknowledged. Quite a daunting prospect. However, and not surprisingly, the larger and poorer nations were reluctant to give up on coal, their main source of energy, so a decision could not be reached about phasing it out, although they agreed to reduce its use and bring forward definite proposals within a year. Rules to control a global carbon market also were agreed after years of wrangling. Richer nations were urged to increase their funding to poorer countries to mitigate their costs of reducing emissions and to honour their pledges of the previous COP, in Paris.
To quote the Economist: “Not the stuff of triumph, but not a trainwreck either’!
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