Carbon emission control will wait: the biggest climate conference ever closed

Representatives from about 200 countries passed a series of resolutions, which increased the commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing assistance to countries suffering from extreme weather events following climate change, but failed to reach agreements on regulating international carbon markets. "The talks show how leaders are cut off"

Carbon emission control will wait: the biggest climate conference ever closed

Marathon talks at the World Climate Conference were closed today (Sunday), while delegates postpone next year a very central decision - how to regulate international carbon markets.

After about two weeks of negotiating the steps needed to deal with global warming, representatives from nearly 200 countries approved resolutions calling for an aspiration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aid poor countries suffering from climate crisis impacts. But despite convening the largest ever climate-related conference in nearly 25 years when the conference convenes, they have left one of the most complex issues for the conference to be held in Glasgow next year.

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Increasing frustration from the slow pace. Protesters at climate conference, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

Protesters at the Madrid Climate Conference, December 14, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

Carbon markets allow for a price tag for carbon dioxide emissions - the main greenhouse gas - and allow countries or companies to trade emissions that can be reduced steadily, thus encouraging the use of low emission technologies. European countries have said that the absence of a deal that determines how to control carbon transactions is preferable to a weak deal, which could undermine about a dozen regional mechanisms currently in place.

"Fortunately, the weak laws governing the market-based mechanisms, promoted by Brazil and Australia, that would undermine efforts to reduce gas emissions - have been shelved," said Mohamed Edo, director of Power Shift Africa.

The talks were sometimes accompanied by angry protests by indigenous groups or environmental organizations, inside and outside the courtroom. The protests reflected growing frustration, especially among young people, stemming from the slow pace of government efforts to curb climate change.

"Carbon economies are on the wrong side of history"

Among the UN's resolutions passed was the "Declaration of Time to Operate Chile-Madrid", which calls on states to improve their current commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is necessary to align with the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set the goal of avoiding From global warming of more than half a cent to the end of the century, the world is expected to warm by about three to four degrees by the end of the 21st century, with the potential for dramatic consequences for many countries.

The states have also agreed to designate budgets for the most vulnerable countries to compensate for the effects of extreme weather events - one of the most pressing issues for smaller island states.

However, environmentalists and activists have blamed the richest countries for expressing little commitment to significant climate change.

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The goal - to align a line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Conference convened yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

Protesters at the Madrid Climate Conference, December 14, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

"The Paris Agreement may have been the victim of a hit-and-run accident caused by a string of powerful carbon economies, but they are on the wrong side of this fight, the wrong side of history," said Jennifer Morgan, global chief executive of Greenpeace.

"Climate blockers like Brazil and Saudi Arabia, with the help of weak and irresponsible Chilean leadership, are trading in carbon deals and scams scientists and civil society," she said.

Chile was at the head of the talks, which had to hurriedly move to Madrid in the background of violent protests that erupted against the government. Despite pressure to show a positive result, activists criticized President Santiago Pinera's government for its intention to hold carbon-based power plants by 2040. Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute said the talks "reflect how divorced world leaders are from the impetus of science and citizens' demands on the streets." She said, "They need to wake up in 2020."