Disappointment for Climate Activists: Glasgow Conference Ends in a Toothless Compromise Israel today

After about two weeks of marathon discussions and three different drafts that were distributed, and after missing the stated goal of reaching an agreement: about 200 countries that participated in the COP26 climate conference managed to reach an agreed wording to maintain the global warming slowdown target. Left outside.

Among other things, due to pressure from developing countries including India and Iran, the final draft was amended so that it does not contain an explicit and binding reference to the use of coal and fossil fuels for electricity generation, and instead the wording is changed to "reduce" coal use.

Today (Saturday), after missing the deadline for reaching an agreement, it was decided to draft a third draft, and it seems that the draft calls on rich countries to "double by 2025" the support they give to developing countries, in terms of aid in dealing with heat waves, floods, droughts and fires.

The draft also preserves the call for all countries, to accelerate the transition from coal-based power generation and inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.

If this clause remains as it is worded, it will be the first time that an international climate agreement at such a level will explicitly include the words "fossil fuels".

However, according to the New York Times, there seems to be opposition among countries like India, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, so it is likely that the clause will not remain in our harsh format.

Environmental activists criticized the third draft for not including the mechanisms that would allow the flow of financial aid to poor countries to combat the phenomenon of climate change, nor did it include binding clauses on the amount of aid from different countries.

Either way, with the opponents expressing their displeasure with the wording of the third draft is also Iran, whose economy is largely based on the fuel and oil industry.

The third draft preserves the overall goal of preventing global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius, but it calls on countries to converge again next year with more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because the pace is currently not meeting the target.

The president of the climate conference, Aluk Sharma, apologized "most profoundly" for the way the talks had, in effect, led to a toothless agreement.

At the press conference, at the announcement of the agreement, he said in a broken voice and with teary eyes that he understands the activists' hearts that the final draft was significantly softened: "I apologize to all delegates at the conference for how the process took place this".