COP26
India’s Last-Minute Coal Defense at COP26 Hid Role of China, U.S.
The conclusion of climate talks in Glasgow came down to resistance from the three biggest emitters.
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More than two weeks of global climate negotiations came down in the end to India watering down language on the use of coal. But the visible resistance from India on the final text of the Glasgow Climate Pact helped conceal the role played by China and even the U.S. in the weakened outcome.
A dramatic process of revision to the final text unfolded in the closing minutes of talks on Saturday, before COP26 President Alok Sharma could bring down the gavel, all surrounding a single paragraph. The sticking point: a call to accelerate the “phase-out” of unabated coal power, from plants that don’t use carbon-capture technology.