Glasgow Climate Pact

International agreement

Glasgow Climate Pact
Full text
Drafted	31 October – 13 November 2021
Signed	13 November 2021 ^[1]
Location	Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Parties	197
Depositary	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	English
Glasgow Climate Pact at Wikisource

The Glasgow Climate Pact is an agreement reached at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).^[2] The pact is the first climate agreement explicitly planning to reduce unabated coal usage.^[2] A pledge to "phase out" coal was changed to "phase down" late in negotiation, for coal in India and coal in China and other coal reliant countries.^[3]^[4]

Development

The pact's main elements were:

An agreement to re-visit emission reduction plans in 2022 in order to try to keep the 1.5 °C Paris Agreement target achievable
The first ever inclusion of a commitment to limit ("phase down") the use of unabated coal (from this wording it implicitly follows that utilizing coal with "abatement" (net-zero emission), e.g. by neutralizing the resulting carbon dioxide via the CO₂-to-stone process, need not be reduced. However this carbon capture and storage is too expensive for most coal fired power stations.^[5])
A commitment to climate finance for developing countries.^[2]

Pledges

The number of countries pledged to reach net-zero emissions passed 140. This target includes 90% of current global greenhouse gas emissions.^[6]

More than 100 countries, including Brazil, pledged to reverse deforestation by 2030.

More than 40 countries pledged to move away from coal.

India promised to draw half of its energy requirement from renewable sources by 2030.^[7]

The governments of 24 developed countries and a group of major car manufacturers including GM, Ford, Volvo, BYD Auto, Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz committed to "work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets".^[8]^[9] Major car manufacturing nations like the US, Germany, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as Volkswagen, Toyota, Peugeot, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, did not pledge.^[10]

Reception

U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa stated that she was not happy with the last minute change of language affirmed by members of the Indian and Chinese parties but did say that, "No deal was the worst possible result there. Nobody wins,” stating she was satisfied with the deal overall. “We would have preferred a very clear statement about a phasing out of coal and (the) elimination of fossil fuel subsidies,” Espinosa said, but explained she understands India’s needs.^[11]

References

^ FCCC, PA. "Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-11-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rincon, Paul (2021-11-14). "COP26: New global climate deal struck in Glasgow". BBC News.
^ Volcovici, Valerie; Abnett, Kate; James, William (2021-11-14). "U.N. climate agreement clinched after late drama over coal". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
^ "Last-minute coal compromise in climate deal disappoints many at COP26". CBC News. The Associated Press. 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
^ "Is carbon capture too expensive? – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
^ "World heading for 2.4C global warming - report". 2021-11-09. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "India pledges net-zero emissions by 2070 — but also wants to expand coal mining". NPR. 2021-11-03.
^ "COP26: Deal to end car emissions by 2040 idles as motor giants refuse to sign". Financial Times. 2021-11-08.
^ "COP26: Every carmaker that pledged to stop selling fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040". CarExpert. 2021-11-11.
^ "COP26: Germany fails to sign up to 2040 combustion engine phaseout". Deutsche Welle. 2021-11-10.
^ Avanti, Pedro. "UN climate boss: 'Good compromise' beats no deal on warming". The Independent. Retrieved 2021-11-14.

External links

The text of the pact, annotated by the Washington Post. (subscription required)
The official text (Advance unedited version - English) from the UNFCCC.
"COP26: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Glasgow". Carbon Brief. 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-16.

Climate change

Overview
Causes of climate change Climate change adaptation Climate change mitigation Climate system Effects of climate change By country and region

Causes

Overview	Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Greenhouse effect Scientific consensus on climate change
Sources	Deforestation Fossil fuel Greenhouse gases Greenhouse gas emissions Carbon accounting Carbon footprint Carbon leakage from agriculture from wetlands World energy supply and consumption

History
History of climate change policy and politics History of climate change science Svante Arrhenius James Hansen Charles David Keeling United Nations Climate Change conferences Years in climate change 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Effects and issues

Physical	Abrupt climate change Anoxic event Arctic methane emissions Arctic sea ice decline Atlantic meridional overturning circulation Drought Extreme weather Flood Coastal flooding Heat wave Marine Urban heat island Oceans acidification deoxygenation heat content sea surface temperature stratification temperature Ozone depletion Permafrost thaw Retreat of glaciers since 1850 Sea level rise Season creep Tipping points in the climate system Tropical cyclones Water cycle Wildfires
Flora and fauna	Biomes Mass mortality event Birds Extinction risk Forest dieback Invasive species Marine life Plant biodiversity
Social and economic	Agriculture Livestock Children Cities Civilizational collapse Disability Economic impacts Fisheries Gender Health Mental health Human rights Indigenous peoples Infectious diseases Migration Poverty Psychological impacts Security and conflict Urban flooding Water scarcity Water security
By country and region	Africa Americas Antarctica Arctic Asia Australia Caribbean Europe Middle East and North Africa Small island countries South Asia by individual country

Mitigation

Economics and finance	Carbon budget Carbon emission trading Carbon offsets and credits Gold Standard (carbon offset standard) Carbon price Carbon tax Climate debt Climate finance Climate risk insurance Co-benefits of climate change mitigation Economics of climate change mitigation Fossil fuel divestment Green Climate Fund Low-carbon economy Net zero emissions
Energy	Carbon capture and storage Energy transition Fossil fuel phase-out Nuclear power Renewable energy Sustainable energy
Preserving and enhancing carbon sinks	Blue carbon Carbon dioxide removal Carbon sequestration Direct air capture Carbon farming Climate-smart agriculture Forest management afforestation forestry for carbon sequestration REDD and REDD+ reforestation Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF and AFOLU) Nature-based solutions
Personal	Individual action on climate change Plant-based diet

Society and adaptation

Society	Business action Climate action Climate emergency declaration Climate movement School Strike for Climate Denial Ecological grief Governance Justice Litigation Politics Public opinion Women
Adaptation	Adaptation strategies on the German coast Adaptive capacity Disaster risk reduction Ecosystem-based adaptation Flood control Loss and damage Managed retreat Nature-based solutions Resilience Risk Vulnerability The Adaptation Fund National Adaptation Programme of Action
Communication	Climate Change Performance Index Climate crisis (term) Climate spiral Education Media coverage Popular culture depictions art fiction video games Warming stripes
International agreements	Glasgow Climate Pact Kyoto Protocol Paris Agreement Cooperative Mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement Nationally determined contributions Sustainable Development Goal 13 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Background and theory

Measurements	Global surface temperature Instrumental temperature record Proxy Satellite temperature measurement
Theory	Albedo Carbon cycle atmospheric biologic oceanic permafrost Carbon sink Climate sensitivity Climate variability and change Cloud feedback Cloud forcing Fixed anvil temperature hypothesis Cryosphere Earth's energy budget Extreme event attribution Feedbacks Global warming potential Illustrative model of greenhouse effect on climate change Orbital forcing Radiative forcing
Research and modelling	Climate change scenario Climate model Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Paleoclimatology Paleotempestology Representative Concentration Pathway Shared Socioeconomic Pathways Solar radiation modification