dailies-editorials (2)
(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on Nov. 15)
Progress but not success
Nations compromise over climate change
The U.N. climate summit came to a close with a compromise deal to curb global warming Saturday after more than two weeks of intense negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland. Yet the deal fell short of meeting high expectations about prompt and decisive action against climate change.
The outcome of the summit, officially called the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), is the Glasgow Climate Pact which was adopted by almost 200 nations. The deal has reconfirmed their commitment to limit the Earth's warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as was set in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The pact is meaningful, given that it has managed to keep alive hopes of saving our planet from catastrophic climate change.
Negotiators have made some progress on key issues, including the agreed rules for carbon markets. But they have failed to make the summit a success due to wide differences over each country's emissions reduction targets and who will pay the bill. Developing countries called for more financial assistance from developed countries. Yet, the U.S. and other industrialized countries were still reluctant to shoulder the burden.
The tone of the deal was well reflected in remarks by COP26 President Alok Sharma. He said, "I think today we can say with credibility that we've kept 1.5 (degrees Celsius) within reach. But its pulse is weak, and we will only survive if we keep our promises." In a word, the Glasgow pact is not good enough to tackle climate change effectively.
For that reason, it is natural to express disappointment at the results of the summit. World leaders should keep in mind that kicking the can down the road cannot not be a solution to the looming climate crisis. Some may say that having an insufficient deal is better than nothing at all. But a failure to take urgent and decisive action now could speed up global warming and thus end up losing the last chance to avert catastrophe.
One of many disappointing developments was India's strong opposition to a draft provision to "phase out" coal, the single biggest source of carbon emissions. The expression was changed to "phase down" in the final agreement. The change seemed inevitable to save the deal. But it could undermine international efforts to cut emissions drastically and achieve carbon neutrality sooner than later.
It is also regrettable that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit. More seriously, China, the world's largest emitter, presented a plan to realize a net-zero goal by 2060, a decade later than many other countries' target year of 2050. Russia even delayed it to 2070.
Nevertheless, the world should not give up its fight against climate change. The Glasgow deal is only the start of the implementation of emissions reduction commitments. All the countries, developing and developed, need to overcome pessimism and iron out differences to make joint efforts to save the Earth. Now is the time to take action ― much bolder and more concrete action ― before it is too late.
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