BBC News :
Negotiators in Glasgow are poring over a new draft agreement aimed at averting the worst impacts of climate change.
The COP26 talks were due to finish on Friday, but sticking points – especially on fossil fuels and on financial help to poorer nations – mean they have overrun.
Key language on phasing out coal use has been kept in the latest text.
But it remains unclear if the draft will lead to a deal later on Saturday – or to further negotiations.
Developing nations are unhappy about a lack of progress on what’s known as “loss and damage”, the idea that richer countries should compensate poorer ones for climate change effects they can’t adapt to.
Scientists say that limiting temperature rise to 1.5C compared to pre-industrial levels will protect us from the most dangerous impacts of climate change. It is a key part of the 2015 Paris agreement that most countries signed up to.
Meeting the goal requires global emissions to be cut by 45% by 2030 and to zero overall by 2050. One example of the impact of global temperature rise above 2C is the death of virtually all tropical coral reefs, scientists say.
The new version of the agreement released on Saturday continues to refer to “accelerating efforts towards phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” – watered-down commitments that have been criticised by campaigners, even though some observers underlined that it is the first time coal is explicitly mentioned in UN documents of this type.
China and Saudi Arabia are said to be among a group of countries seeking to remove references to fossil fuel subsidies.
Earlier drafts of the deal had also promised more money to developing nations for adapting to extreme weather and sea level rise.
Promises in Glasgow will not be enough to limit global warming to 1.5C. One estimate by the Climate Action Tracker calculated that the planet is still set to warm by 2.4C if the current pledges are all met. But experts say the current target is still achievable: at COP15 in Copenhagen more than a decade ago, estimates suggested the world was heading for between 3.5 and 4.2C of warming.
The major takeaways from this latest draft are that – barring a few tweaks – the key passages about ambition and fossil fuels remain intact.
However, what may turn out to be an important issue is the lack of a funding facility for what’s known as “loss and damage”.
This issue is about the impacts of climate change that developing countries can’t adapt to, like long term sea level rises or a sudden storm.
The nub of the concept is the link to the centuries of carbon dioxide emissions from richer countries that have contributed to the problem. Developing countries say this means the developed world should pay compensation for these impacts.
That idea is anathema to the rich, who fear being on the financial hook for ever.
The new draft says that instead of establishing a fund there should be a dialogue next year between parties to establish the arrangements for the money.
Many campaigners will not be happy with that, and there’s a feeling there could be a row.
Prof Saleemul Huq, the director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development, was not happy.
“The language on loss and damage has gone backwards from yesterday’s text. It seems the COP26 Presidency has been nobbled behind closed doors by the US,” he tweeted.
2px presentational grey line
Teresa Anderson, climate policy co-ordinator for ActionAid International, said: “The latest text from COP26 is a slap in the face for those who are already dealing with the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.
“It still does nothing to provide a single penny to support indigenous communities, farmers, women and girls to recover and rebuild after climate disasters. The vast majority of the world’s countries are calling for a new funding facility for loss and damage yet their voices have been ignored, again.”
