Glasgow Pact, a bridge to transformative climate action

Cop26 - Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC (standing near left), and Alok Sharma President for COP26 (seated centre), at the closing of the conference. UNFCCC - Kiara Worth.

A day of tumultuous, mixed emotions – the only way to describe the last day of COP26 in Glasgow. Negotiators and delegates spent most of Saturday, at least 9 hours, in the plenary chambers. 

In the early afternoon, an informal session that was held to update participants on the outcome text saw some countries express disappointment and resignation, especially those more vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis. “It’s not enough”, many said, while others called it a “step in the right direction”.

Just before the final plenary, many negotiators held mini celebrations around the room to celebrate what had been accomplished, posing for pictures while using their hands to draw a ‘1.5’, a goal they fought to keep alive, and which stands for the international effort to try to limit future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The applause and hugs were followed by palpable tension when, just before the adoption of the outcome text, India announced a last-minute change, replacing “phasing out coal” with “phasing down coal”.

Eyebrows were raised all over the room. “This will not bring us closer to 1.5C but will make it more difficult to reach it,” said Switzerland’s top climate negotiator.

COP26 President, Alok Sharma, apologized for the last-minute change, and, holding back tears, that the revision “was vital to protect the package” of decisions, now called the Glasgow Climate Pact. 

Even with the change, 197 countries adopted the pact by consensus, and the room was filled with a rousing ovation. 

Despite deflated hopes, in the end, the sense of relief was pervasive.

Later, Mr. Sharma told delegates that they could say “with credibility” that they have kept 1.5 degrees within reach. “But its pulse is weak.  And it will only survive if we keep our promises,” he warned. 

UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said that while the negotiations had not been easy, at COP26, “parties built a bridge leading to the historic transformation we must make to achieve rapid reductions this decade and ultimately towards the 1.5C goal.”

For his part, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that the pact was a compromise that reflected “the interests, the contradictions, and the state of political will in the world today”.

“They take important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions,” he said, calling for accelerated action to keep the Paris goals alive. 

Despite tough negotiations and compromises that were made, countries have now finalized outstanding rules of implementation for the Paris Agreement, and have also agreed to present more ambitious plans to reduce emissions next year, when COP27 will be held in Egypt.

The pact also serves as a catalyst to drive action on adaptation and press forward with commitments to urgently scale up finance.  – UN News