As with emissions targets where progress had been made but success remained elusive, the “harm and damage” decision lacked a clear plan for a funding facility, much to the dismay of climate vulnerable countries. . Work on a definitive plan to compensate disaster-hit countries will now be transferred to COP27 in Egypt next year.
Some countries criticized India’s insistence on soft references to fossil fuels, but Indian officials said the country has voluntarily set aggressive green energy targets and that developing countries need a holistic approach on issues, including finance.
The agreement also goes on to finalize the final piece of the unfinished agenda – a mechanism for the carbon market (Article 6) and transparency – Paris Agreement rule book. The Declaration promises more funding to developing countries by deciding to double the amount for adaptation by 2025 and steps to help vulnerable countries cope with the damage and loss from climate impacts .
The overall agreement was eventually adopted after the COP26 presidency accommodated concerns from India where the country had objected to the phasing out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies. During the last-minute amendments agreed upon in the final text, the change from “phase-out” to “phase-down” regarding the use of coal power.
Just before the last plenary session, UK COP26 President Alok Sharma and his team members were seen trying to convince the environment minister of India Bhupendra Yadav The latter, in text form, strongly opposed it in the context of coal and fossil fuels, interfering during stock-taking. The two leaders were also seen looking at the revised version, which was eventually proposed by Yadav and accepted by the plenary session.
India, in fact, received a revised paragraph by choosing “phase-down” for coal in the final text instead of “phase-out” and even “targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable people in line with national circumstances.” ” included the point. Referring to fossil fuel subsidies, even though Switzerland and the EU reluctantly objected to it as an agreement to be reached before they agreed.
It was quite an emotional moment for Sharma, who presided over the plenary, which ultimately adopted the COP26 decision. This reflects the difficult moments they negotiated as they sought to bring all countries together through small agreements on various fronts.
Although Switzerland and the smaller island nations of the European Union and Mexico criticized India’s move, calling lessons on coal and fossil fuels poor economic choices, the Indian delegation defended the country’s position.
A senior official of the Indian delegation said, “All fossil fuels are bad for the environment. Separating coal without talking about other fossil fuels like natural gas is not the best way forward. But India has made a sense of agreement. It helped in developing a language that is acceptable to all. This language takes care of the concerns of many developing countries including India.”
He further said, ‘India has always said that it does not favor regional goals. We have achieved an economy-wide goal of reducing the emission intensity of GDP. It gives countries greater flexibility to meet mitigation goals tailored to national circumstances and developmental needs. One approach is not the best way to develop consensus on global issues.”
China also wanted clarity on coal and fossil fuels. However, it was India that decided to exclude it during the stocktake and in the end Yadav suggested the amended paragraph which was adopted by all the countries.
Nevertheless, this was the first time that coal and fossil fuel subsidies found a place in COP The decision text, making the issue all the more important in the context of the goal of limiting it to 1.5°C when the world collectively strives to achieve ‘net zero’ (carbon neutrality) by 2050.
In any case, India’s substantial focus on renewable energy and its commitment to increase non-fossil fuel installed power capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and achieve 50% of cumulative electric power installed capacity from renewable energy by 2030 is part of the country’s own efforts. There is proof. To gradually reduce our dependence on coal without compromising on its current growth path.
The outcome of COP26 is also important in view of the finalization of the rulebook for the 2015 Paris Agreement after six years of discussions. The rule book provides guidelines for the full implementation of the Paris deal. This would allow for the full delivery of the historic agreement after agreement on a transparency process, which would hold countries accountable for meeting their goals.
The final rulebook now includes rules for carbon markets (Article 6), which establish a framework for countries to exchange carbon credits through the UNFCCC.
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