The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow garnered support from 197 countries to agree to new rules on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but China and India raised last-minute objections resulting in a weaker pledge to phase out coal use and fossil fuel subsidies. Countries also agreed on rules to govern the Paris Agreement aiming to limit global temperature increase at below 2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial periods and to raise funding to help nations adapt to climate change.
In the final hours of the conference, China and India objected to a clause on “phasing out” unabated coal power and ending fossil fuel subsidies. A negotiation between the US, the EU, and China resulted in a compromise, watering down the phrase “phase out” to “phase down” coal. Many vulnerable small island countries objected to the weaker language, arguing it would threaten their future.
Despite the disappointment, the meeting marked the first time a COP agreement directly referenced coal and fossil fuels. The agreement also includes transparency rules for how countries report their emissions and guidelines for a global carbon credit trade.
