U.N. Secretary-General says climate change goals are ‘on life support’ as COP26 winds down


ClimateChange COP26

Tomorrow marks the close of the climate summit COP26 and, with that, a final agreement—hopefully—adopted by all 197 parties who’ve helped draft the document. At its present stage, the agreement has already faced pushback from countries like Saudi Arabia and a coalition of nations known as the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), including China and India.

Unsurprisingly, many countries that prioritize oil and gas’ profitability are reticent to phase out fossil fuels. For instance, LMDC takes issue with the entire mitigation section of the agreement, which explicitly calls for accelerated phasing out of “coal and subsidies for fossil fuels.” Though the group claims the section places an undue burden on developing countries, two of its 22 members are responsible for the world’s most and third-most carbon emissions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres doesn’t appear at all hopeful about what will be included in the final language of the agreement. Speaking with the Associated Press on Thursday, Guterres warned of a worst-case scenario of a watered-down agreement being adopted for the sake of adoption. According to Guterres, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is “on life support.”

“When you are on the verge of the abyss, it’s not important to discuss what will be your fourth or fifth step,” Guterres told AP. “What’s important to discuss is what will be your first step. Because if your first step is the wrong step, you will not have the chance to do a search to make a second or third one.”

The COP26 agreement fails to reinforce the conference’s goals of requiring rich countries to pledge billions in climate aid for developing nations and those most impacted by climate change and halving emissions by 2030. During a speech on Thursday, Guterres praised some of the progress made throughout the conference, including deforestation pledges and work from non-state actors. Still, Guterres said the efforts were “far from enough.”

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Guterres also announced the establishment of an expert group meant to oversee the work of companies combatting climate change. “We need actions if commitments are to pass the credibility test,” the UN Secretary-General said. “We need to hold each other accountable—governments, non-state actors, and the civil society—because only together can we keep 1.5 degrees within reach and the equitable and resilient world we live.”

Activists agree that world cooperation is key, but feel that COP26 is far from enacting meaningful steps to combat climate change. The youth-led grassroots group “Fridays for Future” and others have called for the adoption of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty—which 17 cities and regional governments have already endorsed, along with hundreds of organizations and more than 132,000 individuals—far more than the 500 lobbyists sent to COP26 on behalf of dozens of fossil fuel companies. The treaty calls for ending oil, gas, and coal production expansion, phasing out the existing production of fossil fuels, and ensuring equitable solutions are adopted that “enable people and communities across the globe to flourish.”

Guterres, for his part, is on board with many of the demands of activists, especially when it comes to treating this issue like the pressing existential threat that it is. “For me, it is clear it is a climate emergency. I have asked all member states to declare it, and I will be making sure that we mobilize the whole of the UN system based on the concept of a climate emergency,” he told AP.

A key way the US can respond to climate change with the same sense of urgency is by passing the Build Back Better Act, which allows for sweeping investments in green and renewable initiatives as well as programs that work to protect and reinforce the ecosystems we hold dear. Call on lawmakers to do the right thing and pass the Build Back Better Act before it’s too late.