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Carolina Schmidt, Chilean Minister of the Environment and President of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP25), closes COP25 in Madrid, December 15, 2019. REUTERS / Nacho Doce

A statement of failure. This is the main point to remember from COP25, the UN climate conference organized in Madrid under the chairmanship of Chile this year. The United States, Brazil, Japan, Australia and even Saudi Arabia are singled out. Countries that refuse to make significant commitments. This prompted many reactions.

Even if a text was finally adopted , the international community " missed an important opportunity to be up to the climate crisis ", did not hesitate to say Antonio Guterres.

For the Secretary General of the United Nations, it is the lack of ambition that made this meeting, however long awaited, fail. Same observation from the presidency of this COP.

" The world is watching and expecting more ambitious concrete solutions from us ," said the Chilean Minister of the Environment. Even if Carolina Schmidt wanted to promote the minimum agreement torn off this Sunday, she calls for more political will, because the solutions found so far are simply not enough.

Read also: COP25: in Madrid, we try to avoid the failure of the climate conference

" The result is not at all close to what we wanted, " said the representative of the Marshall Islands, angry because her state is particularly affected by climate change.

" In view of the climate emergency and the expectations of citizens, France regrets that governments have not gone far enough in their commitments ", we can read in the press release from the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition.

The next meeting to try to save the planet will be held in November 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. Until then " we will not give up, " said young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter.

Environmental activists expressed their anger at the end of this COP by dumping manure next to the Madrid conference center.

For many, we avoided the worst

Lucile Dufour, responsible for international negotiations at the Climate Action Network (RAC) is very disappointed, but she thinks we have avoided the worst.

Today, we had an agreement, but this agreement is of course insufficient because it does not create a roadmap to guide the countries in the year 2020 which is an essential year to fight against climate change.

Lucile Dufour from the Climate Action Network 12/15/2019 - by Laurence Théault Play

■ Carbon markets, a thorny issue

The COP25 failed to find an agreement on the rules of the international carbon markets, last part of the user manual of the Paris Agreement of 2015. If for a large part of the actors of this meeting this COP 25 is a failure , the fact of not having bowed under the pressures exerted by Australia, Japan, Brazil, the United States or Saudi Arabia avoided a bad agreement on the rules of the carbon markets, as explained Sara Lickel, climate advocacy officer at Secours Catholique-Caritas France.

We avoided the worst, indeed. What you have to understand is that carbon markets if they are poorly framed and badly sized, they are very dangerous and they are ultimately more dangerous than not having or acting through carbon markets.

Sara Lickel from Secours Catholique-Caritas France 12/15/2019 - by Romain Lemaresquier Play

■ A risk of cheating after the agreement

For Rémi Parmentier, director of The Varda Group and coordinator of the secretariat of the Because the Ocean initiative, the risk of this agreement found in Madrid is article 6 which regulates the carbon emissions trading system.

The risk with the situation that remains with article 6 that is not resolved is that some countries cheat at the expense of climate balance, that there are double counting, that sort of thing, and there it is really urgent that these questions be settled, because otherwise we will not be able to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Rémi Parmentier from The Varda Group and Because the Ocean

Sylvia Celli

12/15/2019 - by RFI Play

A very poor balance sheet seen from Africa

Bitterness and disappointment also for African countries, on the front line even if they represent only 4% of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

African countries hoped for progress on the issue of climate finance, that is to say, more resources from the main polluters to help them prevent the effects of climate change they are suffering from, but also consequences of disasters (droughts, floods) that are increasing on the continent.

In particular, they hoped that this COP 25 would make it possible to set new rules for the so-called carbon market. A system for trading greenhouse gas emissions rights.

Currently, a 2% tax is levied on part of these exchanges to finance an “adaptation fund” supposed to allow countries in the south to prevent the effects of climate change.

Africa would like this tax to increase and be systematized. But this file has been postponed until next year.

Another subject of disappointment: the famous promise made by the rich countries in 2009 to put each year 100 billion dollars on the table by 2020 to help the countries of the South facing the challenges of climate change. One year from the deadline, we remain far from the account.

The Africa group demanded that a report be produced by United Nations climate experts to assess the situation, but this proposal was not adopted. " The financing of adaptation is in crisis, " laments Seyni Nafo, the spokesperson for the Africa group. Especially since the United States, once a major contributor to climate finance under the Obama administration, announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and backtracked on its commitments.

Despite the fact that a certain number of countries, notably France, England, Germany ... have doubled their contribution to the Green Climate Fund, we are reaching a level which is lower than 2014. Basically because the Americans no longer contribute to the fund.

Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the Africa group 12/16/2019 - by Florence Morice Play

■ Presiding over a COP is leadership

It is the longest COP, and the record is meager. But at the same time, the presidency of a COP is leadership, it is not just logistics. You have to mobilize all your diplomacy, there has to be political will at the highest level and I think the President of Chile has other concerns today.

Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the Africa group 12/16/2019 - by Florence Morice Play