UN Chief Disappointed With Results Of COP25 Climate Talks In Madrid

UNITED NATIONS/MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2019) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that he was disappointed with the results of the 25th UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid as the international community failed to adopt an ambitious text.

The COP25 conference was to end on Friday but it was extended to allow the participants to reach a good final agreement that will cover all aspects, including the mitigation of consequences, adaption to climate change, and means of implementation, such as financing and technology transfer. As a result, delegates from about 200 countries passed declarations calling for a cut of greenhouse gas emissions and assistance to developing states in tackling climate issues. However, the parties failed to agree on a mechanism for implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which outlines the rules for a new global carbon market system and remains a major stumbling block for the Paris deal to become fully operational.

"I am disappointed with the results of COP25. The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis. We must not give up and I will not give up," the UN chief said in a statement.

Guterres added that he wanted 2020 to be the year when "all countries commit to do what science tells us" to reach carbon neutrality in 2050 and a temperature rise of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Climate activists were also outraged with the results. In particular, 350 non-governmental environmental organizations issued a statement that slams the COP25 final agreement.

"As COP25 comes to an end, national delegates failed once more to step up to the existential challenge of the climate crisis. For two weeks, negotiators tinkered with the last bits of the so-called 'rulebook' of the Paris Agreement ... On virtually each item on the agenda, a few large and powerful countries with vested interests in coal, oil and gas, stubbornly blocked progress," the statement said.

The negotiation process was rather difficult and accompanied by protests organized by different environmental groups in Madrid, including the Climate March on December 6 and demonstrations by the Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future climate change activists, who called for more ambitious and concrete measures to address climate issues.