Governments at the U.N. climate summit have agreed to a deal after making a compromise on coal
Almost 200 nations accepted a contentious climate compromise Saturday aimed at keeping a key global warming target alive, but it contained a last-minute change that watered down crucial language about coal.
Several countries, including small island states, said they were deeply disappointed by the change promoted by India to 鈥減hase down,鈥� rather than 鈥減hase out鈥� coal power, the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Nation after nation had complained earlier on the final day of two weeks of U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland about how the deal did not go far or fast enough, but they said it was better than nothing and provided incremental progress, if not success.
Negotiators from Switzerland and Mexico called the coal language change against the rules because it came so late. However, they said they had no choice but to hold their noses and go along with it.
Swiss environment minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the change will make it harder to achieve the international goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.
鈥淥ur fragile planet is hanging by a thread,鈥� United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. 鈥淲e are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.鈥�
Many other nations and climate campaigners pointed at India for making demands that weakened the final agreement.
"India鈥檚 last-minute change to the language to phase down but not phase out coal is quite shocking,鈥� said Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, who tracks world emission pledges for the science-based Climate Action Tracker. 鈥淚ndia has long been a blocker on climate action, but I have never seen it done so publicly.鈥�
Others approached the deal from a more positive perspective. In addition to the revised coal language, the Glasgow Climate Pact included enough financial incentives to almost satisfy poorer nations and solved a long-standing problem to pave the way for carbon trading.
The agreement also says big carbon polluting nations have to come back and submit stronger emission-cutting pledges by the end of 2022.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good deal for the world,鈥� U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told The Associated Press. 鈥淚t鈥檚 got a few problems, but it鈥檚 all in all a very good deal.鈥�
Before the India change, negotiators said the deal preserved, albeit barely, the overarching goal of limiting Earth's warming by the end of the century to 1.5 degrees. The world has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial times.
Ahead of the Glasgow talks, the United Nations had set three criteria for success, and none of them were achieved. The U.N.鈥榮 criteria included pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, $100 billion in financial aid from rich nations to poor, and ensuring that half of that money went to helping the developing world adapt to the worst effects of climate change.
鈥淲e did not achieve these goals at this conference,鈥� Guterres said Saturday night. 鈥淏ut we have some building blocks for progress."
Negotiators Saturday used the word 鈥減rogress鈥� more than 20 times, but rarely used the word 鈥渟uccess鈥� and then mostly in that they鈥檝e reached a conclusion, not about the details in the agreement. Conference President Alok Sharma said the deal drives 鈥減rogress on coal, cars, cash and trees鈥欌� and is 鈥渟omething meaningful for our people and our planet.鈥欌�
Environmental activists were measured in their not-quite-glowing assessments, issued before India鈥檚 last-minute change.
鈥淚t鈥檚 meek, it鈥檚 weak and the 1.5 C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters,鈥� said Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan, a veteran of the U.N. climate talks known as the Conferences of Parties.
Former Irish President Mary Robinson, speaking for a group of retired leaders called The Elders, said the pact represents 鈥渟ome progress, but nowhere near enough to avoid climate disaster... People will see this as a historically shameful dereliction of duty.鈥�
Next year鈥檚 talks are scheduled to take place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Dubai will host the meeting in 2023.
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Aniruddha Ghosal, Karl Ritter and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.