A fragile agreement Inside the final hours of Cop26
As weary delegates trudged into the Scottish Event Campus on the banks of the Clyde last Saturday, few realised what a mountain they still had to climb. The Cop26 climate talks were long past their official deadline of 6pm on the Friday, but there were strong hopes that the big issues had been settled. A deal was tantalisingly close.
The “package” on offer was imperfect – before countries even turned up in Glasgow they were meant to have submitted plans to cut global carbon output by nearly half by 2030 to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Although most had done so, the plans were not strong enough and analysis found they would lead to a disastrous 2.4C of heating.
The gap between targets and the emissions cuts that scientists say are needed had been known before the talks. What was crucial in Glasgow
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