After two weeks of intense negotiations,

The Glasgow climate agreement has “partially” met international expectations

A protester holds a sign reading "Capitalism is eating our planet" outside the summit hall.

AFP

Nearly 200 countries reached the Glasgow climate agreement yesterday after intense negotiations over two weeks, with Britain, which is hosting the talks, declaring that the agreement would keep international hopes alive for averting the worst effects of global warming.

The following are the main achievements of the agreement:

boost ambition

The agreement recognizes that the commitments countries have made so far to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming, are not close enough to prevent the planet's temperature rise from exceeding 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures.

In an effort to solve this problem, the agreement requires governments to boost those goals by the end of next year, instead of every five years, as was previously required.

Failure to set and meet stricter emissions reduction targets will have dire consequences.

Scientists say that a temperature rise exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius would lead to a significant rise in sea levels and disasters, including severe droughts, severe storms and wildfires, that are much worse than those the world is already experiencing.

"I think today we can honestly say that we have kept 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach, but its pulse is weak, and we will only live if we fulfill our promises," said Uluk Sharma, head of the UN Climate Summit.

Targeting fossil fuels

The agreement includes for the first time language asking countries to reduce their reliance on coal and to roll back fossil-fuel subsidies, moves that target energy sources that scientists say are the primary driver of man-made climate change.

The wording was controversial.

Prior to the adoption of the Glasgow Accord, India demanded that the treaty call on countries to “phased down,” rather than relentlessly “phasing out” of coal.

This slight change of word caused a lot of anxiety in the plenary, but delegations agreed to the request to salvage the Convention.

Meanwhile, the agreement's wording on "ineffective support" kept the wording of "phasing out".

Questions remain about how to define 'relentless' and 'ineffective'.

Payments to poor and vulnerable countries

The agreement made some headway in the demands of poor, and vulnerable nations, that rich nations be responsible for financing most emissions.

The agreement, for example, “urges developed country parties to double their collective provision of climate finance by 2025.”

I also mentioned, for the first time, the so-called “losses and damages” in the coverage section of the agreement.

The losses and damages point to the costs some countries are already facing due to climate change, and for years these countries have wanted money to help deal with it.

Under the agreement, the developed countries basically agreed to continue discussions on this topic.

We'll see where that leads us.

Global Carbon Market Rules

Negotiators also finalized an agreement that sets the rules for carbon markets, potentially leading to trillions of dollars in spending to protect forests, build renewable energy facilities and other projects to combat climate change.

Companies as well as countries with extensive forest cover have pushed Glasgow to hammer out a strong deal on government-led carbon markets, hoping to also legitimize the fast-growing global voluntary compensation markets.

Under the agreement, some measures will be implemented to ensure that the credits are not counted twice under national emissions targets, but bilateral trade between countries will not be taxed to help finance climate adaptation, which has been a key requirement of less developed countries.

side agreements

A number of notable side agreements were also reached.

The United States and the European Union led a global initiative to reduce methane, promising nearly 100 countries to reduce methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

The United States and China, the world's two biggest carbon emitters, also announced a joint statement on cooperation on climate change measures, an agreement that reassured observers of Beijing's intention to speed up its efforts to combat global warming, after a long lull.

Companies and investors also made a slew of voluntary pledges that would phase out gasoline cars, decarbonize air travel, protect forests, and ensure more sustainable investment.

• For the first time, the agreement includes language asking countries to reduce their reliance on coal and drop fossil fuel subsidies, steps aimed at energy sources that scientists say are the main driver of man-made climate change.

• Scientists say that a temperature rise exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius would lead to a significant rise in sea levels, and disasters, including severe droughts, severe storms, and wildfires that are far worse than those the world is already experiencing.

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