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Australia among nations trying to soften COP26 declaration
By Bevan Shields and Nick O'Malley
Glasgow: Australia and other countries are working to water down a key proposal from the Glasgow climate summit which would pressure the Morrison government to overturn its opposition to a more ambitious 2030 emissions-reductions target.
The behind-the-scenes negotiations during the dying days of COP26 took place as its host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, condemned world leaders for “sitting on their hands” and conceded the core goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees was now at grave risk.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warns of the rebuke from voters if COP26 fails.Credit: Getty
“It’s clear that after a surge of really positive, game-changing announcements last week ... negotiations are getting tough,” he said.
Mr Johnson declined repeated opportunities to name which countries were blocking progress.
“I think everybody knows who needs to do what. Everybody understands the intricate balance of the negotiations,” he said.
“The world knows what a mess our planet is in. The world has heard leaders from every country, every continent, stand here and acknowledge the need for action. And the world will find it absolutely incomprehensible if we fail to deliver that.
“The backlash from people will be immense and long-lasting, and frankly we will deserve their criticism and their opprobrium.”
The joint declaration issued by China and the US later Wednesday evening local time (Thursday AEDT) stating that the two superpowers will put aside their own geopolitical rivalries to tackle climate change has raised hopes that the roadblock to a strong 2030 commitment has been removed.
Addressing a press conference at the COP26 summit, Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua unveiled a joint-declaration designed to “enhance climate action in the 2020s” and said the two nations were determined to tackle global warming with “concrete and pragmatic” co-operation.
While Australia has committed to reducing emissions to net zero by 2050, the Morrison government declined to lift its 2030 target of reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent due to strong opposition from Coalition MPs.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has forecast a 35 per cent cut to emissions by 2030 in a formal document lodged in Glasgow, however the projection does not have the same force as a binding target.
The terms of a draft Glasgow accord released on Wednesday morning local time would give nations that have not submitted “new or updated” 2030 targets another 12 months to “revisit and strengthen” their emissions-reduction effort.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves the Glasgow climate summit on Wednesday. Credit: Getty
The Australian government and other countries are working to have that element altered or removed. Australia is also unhappy with another proposal which “calls upon” nations to speed up the phase-out of coal and fossil-fuel subsidies.
There is a strong expectation that the final language will be softened or removed by the time a deal is completed on Friday.
Asked whether watering down the draft text would imperil the goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, Mr Johnson replied: “The risk of sliding back, I think, would be an absolute disaster for the planet.
“As we go into the final furlong, that’s where the horses change places. That’s the most difficult moment.”
Energy Minister Angus Taylor said Australia was an “active and constructive participant in the negotiations to ensure a positive outcome for COP26”.
“While ambition is important, action and outcomes are what matters,” he said.
One Australian government official noted the COP26 agreements are usually formed on a consensus basis, suggesting opposition to the draft text will likely lead to it being changed.
Simonetta Sommaruga, a Swiss politician in charge of settling the issue, conceded views “still differ widely”.
In one sign of the extent of the disagreement, Sommaruga revealed some countries had even asked for the time between updated targets to be expanded to 10 years instead of the existing five.
Elsewhere, Glasgow negotiators are having difficulty striking agreement on financing, adaption and compensation for loss and damage.
There is also unease over a proposal for the United Nations to convene another summit of world leaders in 2023.
Warning of a tense final two days of negotiations, COP26 President Alok Sharma said some countries would have to reverse their positions to reach consensus.
“My big, big ask is to come armed with the currency of compromise,” he said.
“What we agree in Glasgow will set the future for our children and grandchildren. I know we will not want to fail them.”
He also stuck to the goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, reminding negotiators of a recent speech by Mia Mottley, the Barbados Prime Minister, who said 2 degrees of warming would be a “death sentence” for her country.
Johnson condemned countries which had “spent six years conspicuously patting themselves on the back” for signing the Paris Agreement only to “edge toward default now that vulnerable nations and future generations are demanding payment, here now, in Glasgow”.
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