Glasgow, UK – Commenting on the new COP26 final decision text published by the UK Presidency this morning (Friday), Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said:<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt could be better, it should be better, and we have one day left to make it a lot, lot better. Right now the fingerprints of fossil fuel interests are still on the text and this is not the breakthrough deal that people hoped for in Glasgow.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe key line on phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies has been critically weakened, but it\u2019s still there and needs to be strengthened again before this summit closes. That\u2019s going to be a big tussle and one we need to win. Meanwhile we\u2019ve gone from \u2018urging\u2019 countries to strengthen their 2030 emissions targets in line with the 1.5C goal to merely \u2018requesting\u2019 they do so by 2022. It wasn\u2019t good enough before, it\u2019s even weaker now and that needs to change. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s wording in here worth holding on to and the UK Presidency needs to fight tooth and nail to keep the most ambitious elements in the deal. We\u2019ve moved from richer nations largely ignoring the pleas of developing countries for promised finance to tackle climate change, to the beginnings of a recognition that their calls should be met. Now we need developed countries to scale up their offer of support and finance.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cNegotiators in Glasgow simply have to seize the moment and agree something historic, but they need to isolate the governments who\u2019ve come here to wreck progress and instead listen to the calls of youth and vulnerable nations.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIn parallel we\u2019re witnessing a deliberate and cynical effort by a few nation states to turn Article 6 into a charter for cheating, greenwash and loopholes. Today is an absolutely critical day in the fight to defend the 1.5C goal from vested interests who\u2019ll do anything to dodge their responsibility for the climate crisis. Anything less puts the essence of Paris in peril.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n To request an interview with Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, contact: Dannielle Taaffe, Media Advisor, Greenpeace International –dtaaffe@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n