Climate Talks Madrid: Not all is lost
Onward and upward
The UN climate talks in Madrid last week produced another white elephant after a vague closing statement. The COP25 in Madrid now holds the record of the longest UN climate conference in history. Sunday afternoon, participating countries finally jammed out an exceptionally weak final declaration that was supposed to be ready on Friday.
Was it worth the wait?
Watch: Closing statement at COP25 via Euronews.com
Well, the result is not as good as we hoped, however, not as bad as it could have been.
The 2015 Paris Agreement resulted in a promise to keep a global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, when we take all participating country commitments into account, the world is still facing an increase of more than 3 degrees.
To mitigate the most dangerous effects of climate change, we need to cut in half our production of CO2 in the next ten years.
In other words, each country must go back to the drawing board and rigorously update their proposals. And preferably as soon as possible, as the Paris Agreement process enters a crucial implementation phase in 2020.
On Friday, the last official day of the COP in Madrid, all notes about the urgent need for more ambitious plans were scrapped from the climate talks' closing statements. This was understandably unacceptable for Europe, Mexico, Costa Rica, and many other countries that are already feeling the effects of climate change. Eventually, the final statement referred vaguely to the need for an update of each country's national climate plans.
Carbon: rather no deal than a bad deal
The major stumbling block: the international carbon markets, explained article 6 of the Paris agreement. What does it entail? Countries that do not achieve their goals can buy emission reductions from countries that achieved more than their goals. The proposals on the international carbon markets on the table in Madrid contain so many loopholes so that countries could achieve their goals without emitting fewer greenhouse gases on paper. This would seriously undermine the entire international climate policy.
The fact that negotiations on international carbon markets have been postponed is, therefore, a good thing. Better to unplug and try again at the next climate summit in Glasgow than approve bad rules today.
Conclusion
The outcome of the COP25 is not in line with what is needed to prevent severe climate change. The urgency that scientists and millions of climate activists worldwide already demand is in stark contrast to the pace of international climate conferences. Countries with major fossil interests, such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States, were, as usual, firmly against any progression. Still, other major polluting countries like Brazil and Australia also held the negotiations hostage.
European Green Deal
One upside is that the European Union launched its Green Deal proposal last week. In 2030 Europe will emit 50 to 55 percent fewer greenhouse gases, and by 2050 the European Union’s emissions will be net-zero. Real climate policy ensures not only clean air and clean water but also jobs and innovation. The countries that will implement such a policy will also be the first to reap the benefits.
Europe wants to become the first climate-neutral continent. If they show that this is possible at the next climate summit next year in Glasgow, this will force other countries to up their game. So off to Glasgow — and then the world.
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