EFE.- The president of the COP26 climate summit, Alok Sharma, acknowledged on Thursday that “much work remains to be done” to reach an agreement and called on the negotiators to increase their efforts on the issue of financing.
With only one day before COP26 closes -at least in theory-, Sharma addressed the conference plenary to announce “significant progress” in the last hours, but highlighted the need to close the technical aspects as soon as possible to be able to file the political differences in the day of Friday.
“We have not arrived yet, there is a lot of work to do. I know how hard they are working, but today there must be another gear change for the negotiators to finish the technical work, ”Sharma told delegates from nearly 200 countries.
After yesterday publishing the first draft of the final document, the president of the summit admitted that “no one in the room is fully happy” with the text, but praised the “commitment” of the parties to find a consensus.
And regarding the steps they expect in the next few hours, he drew attention to the “critical need to increase financing efforts today,” before publishing a new draft agreement tonight.
“The leaders were clear that they wanted consensus and ambition, but at the negotiating tables we are having trouble making progress even on routine matters. That cannot happen today, ”he said.
To do this, he asked the ministers who act as “facilitators” to draw up proposals on a “quantified collective goal” and on “long-term climate finance” to be debated by the parties.
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They ask to end the ‘taboo’ on hydrocarbons
The CAN network of environmental organizations asked this Thursday to end “the taboo that still exists in climate talks” on the need to eradicate hydrocarbons now, the main source of contamination, which have been mentioned for the first time in an official document at COP26.
“Fossil fuel eradication is still a huge taboo in international climate talks. At this summit, we are immersed in a process that is expressly designed to avoid talking about it “said Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Director for Oil Change International.
Ioualalen noted that hydrocarbons were not mentioned in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement and celebrated as “an important step” that they are mentioned “for the first time” in the draft published yesterday on the final agreement of this UN climate summit.
In that interim document, countries commit to “phase out coal and fossil fuel subsidies.”
The activist also considered good news the announcement scheduled for today of an alliance of countries, led by Costa Rica, that pledge not to approve new fossil fuel extraction projects in their jurisdiction.
Ioualalen said that this initiative, whose list of members is still unknown, “is a positive development” that indicates “a change in the debate” and that some countries are finally considering the need to stop the extraction and consumption of hydrocarbons, key to achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Catherine Pettengel, of the Climate Action Network, said for her part that for this summit to be able to claim that it has been a success, it must provide the promised financing to developing countries – at least $ 100 billion annually – and allocate a greater part to the adaptation and to the damages and losses that the climate already causes in many territories, instead of focusing funds on mitigation measures.
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