When the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared that “I am disappointed with the results of COP 25.” it is fair to presume that the outcome of this conference of parties has been underwhelming.
The Conference of Parties COP 25 ended on Sunday 15th December having had a 44 hour extension from the scheduled closure on Friday. This was the latest lasting session, but despite this extension the outcome has been described as disappointing.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared that “I am disappointed with the results of COP 25. The International Community lost an important opportunity to show an increased ambition on mitigation, adaption and finance to tackle the climate crisis.”
This statement reflects the lack of progress regarding achieving consensus regarding the finalising of the Rulebook of the Paris Agreement which has now been deferred to 2020.
This Positive outcomes included:
- EU commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050
- 73 nations have agreed to submit an enhanced climate action plan
- 177 companies have pledged to cut emissions in line with the 1.5C target as part of the Climate Ambition Alliance
The conference was unable to resolve the contentious issues relating to dealing with loss and damage caused by man made climate change or agreement regarding financing for adaption.
Greta Thunberg commented that “It seems like COP 25 in Madrid is falling apart right now. The science is clear, but the science is being ignored.”
The UNEP report released prior to COP 25 indicates that the 1.5C goal of the Paris agreement is slipping away as the existing national climate pledges indicates that by 2030 emissions will be 30% above the required target. This leaves a lot to agree in 2020 and the schedule of Regional Climate Weeks will for the first time include the Middle East and North Africa. COP 26 will be hosted by Glasgow on 9th – 19th November 2020
WWF in collaboration with the Prado gallery have reworked some famous paintings to highlight the effect of climate change
If you would like to learn more please access our Compliance Briefing COP 24 and COP 25 at www.selgroup.co.uk