By Elizabeth Piper and Valerie Volcovici and Jake Spring
GLASGOW (Reuters) – The UN climate conference in Scotland ended with a global deal that seeks to at least keep alive the hope of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and thus maintain a realistic chance of saving the world from catastrophic climate changes.
Alok Sharma, chairman of the conference, slammed the hammer down to signal that there were no decisive objections from the nearly 200 national delegations present in Glasgow, ranging from coal and gas-fueled superpowers to oil producers and Pacific islands being swallowed up by the rise of the sea level.
A revised deal was passed after a last-minute change to the text regarding coal, which sparked complaints from vulnerable countries wanting a more definitive statement on fossil fuel subsidies.
After a last-minute change in language around coal, with India suggesting replacing the word “eliminate” with “reduce”, Sharma signaled that a deal had been passed.
The agreement is the result of two weeks of tortuous talks in Glasgow, which were extended by a day to balance the demands of climate-vulnerable nations, major industrial powers and countries where the consumption or export of fossil fuels is vital for economic development .
“Please don’t ask yourself what else you might want, but ask yourself what is enough,” Sharma told delegates in the closing hours.
“And even more important – please ask yourself whether these texts ultimately work for all people and for our planet.”
The overall aim of the UK-based conference was too modest in the opinion of climate activists and vulnerable countries – to maintain the 2015 Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
A draft agreement that circulated earlier Saturday in practice acknowledged that commitments made so far to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet are not nearly enough and urged nations to make tougher promises about to the weather next year instead of every five years as they are currently required to do.
Scientists say warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius would generate extreme sea-level rise and disasters such as droughts, storms and fires far worse than those the world is currently experiencing.
But until now, pledges by countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions – primarily carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas – would limit the growth of the average global temperature to 2.4 degrees Celsius.
However, Saturday’s draft, published by the UN, called for efforts to reduce the use of coal and the huge subsidies that governments around the world give to oil, coal and gas that fuel factories and heat homes – something that was never agreed upon in no other climate conference.
India, whose energy demands are heavily reliant on coal, has last-minute objections to this part of the deal.
Developing countries argue that rich nations, whose emissions record is largely responsible for warming the planet, need to pay more to help them adapt to the consequences and also to reduce their carbon footprint.
(Additional reporting by William James, Simon Jessop, Valerie Volcovici, Richard Valdmanis and Kate Abnett)
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