HS Environment The outcome of the Glasgow climate summit was met with disappointment and cautious positivity – “The clock is ticking and the next few years are critical”

Policy|HS Environment

Glasgow the climate summit was concluded on saturday night, about overtime.

Finnish Minister for the Environment and Climate Krista Mikkonen (vihr) commented on the outcome of the meeting in a recent press release from the Ministry of the Environment.

According to the ministry, Glasgow succeeded in reaffirming its commitment to the goals of the Paris climate summit, but solutions to some key issues were postponed to future years.

The meeting decided that progress towards the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement would be reviewed annually.

“The decision still keeps the 1.5 degree target achievable. The clock is ticking, and the next few years are critical. That is why we need constant pressure to improve climate action, especially in the 2020s, and the annual review now decided will bring this, ”Mikkonen says in a press release.

The coal combustion clause in the agreement was modified in the very last meters at the request of India. In the final version, countries committed to reducing coal power, while the original version simply talked about eliminating coal power.

“Reducing coal combustion is now mentioned in the UN text for the first time. It is an important signal, even if we had wanted a stronger record, ”Mikkonen commented.

Also The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK will comment on the outcome of the meeting shortly after it ends.

According to EK, it was important that the outcome of the negotiations on international market mechanisms was achieved, although it was weaker than expected. In practice, therefore, there is talk of emissions trading.

“It is encouraging to see that the gradual tightening of emission reductions is working in line with the Paris Agreement and that the tightening of targets will be resumed next year, although there is still work to be done to reach the 1.5 degree limit,” says EK’s CEO. Jyri Häkämies in the bulletin.

“It is also important that Glasgow made progress on issues that were previously difficult to know about international emissions trading, although the rules remained loose,” says Häkämies.

Meeting the result was also commented on social media on saturday night.

The Greens Osmo Soininvaara expressed on Twitter quite bluntly that he was disappointed.

“Glasgow then set a common goal of warming the planet by 2.4 degrees. It is a pity for the young people of our time and, above all, for their children, ”Soininvaara writes.

Member of the Center Mauri Pekkarinen rushed to respond to Soininvaara’s publication.

“I agree with Osmo,” Pekkarinen writes.