The COP25 ended two days late and with very few steps ahead made. Climate negotiations in 2020 will be an uphill battle as political will clearly seems to be lacking, once again.
The COP25, the most difficult in recent years, ended on Sunday 15 December. Two extra days and nights, on top of the two scheduled weeks, of complex and disarming negotiations brought the UN Climate Change Summit to an end. Few steps forward were made and the many sticking points suggest that shaping international climate action in 2020 will be a long uphill battle.
I am disappointed with the results of #COP25.
The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation & finance to tackle the climate crisis.
But we must not give up, and I will not give up.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 15, 2019
“The science is clear, but the science is being ignored”, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg tweeted on Saturday evening. But she added that “whatever happens, we’ll never give up. We’ve only just begun”. However, the sense of disappointment is palpable. As is the enormous divide between scientists’ warnings and civil society’s demands on one side, and governments on the other.
It seems like #cop25 in Madrid is falling apart right now. The science is clear, but the science is being ignored.
Whatever happens we will never give up. We have only just begun. https://t.co/wEFIDLU382— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 14, 2019
“It had been clear for a few days now that this COP would end in failure – Kyoto Club vice-president Francesco Ferrante commented –. The political fact that has emerged is that Europe’s efforts alone won’t be enough, even though it has presented the most ambitious document, the Green New Deal. When the only real leap forward was accomplished in Paris it was thanks to the administrations of the US and China. Europe needs to keep hope alive, but the truth is that no progress can be made without the big players”. Catherine Abreu of the Climate Action Network holds the same view: “No clear direction has been given to the parties about the objectives to be achieved next year. The spirit with which the Paris Agreement was approved feels today like a distant memory”.
“The world is screaming out for action but this summit responded with a whisper,” said Chema Vera, interim executive director of humanitarian organisation Oxfam. “The poorest nations are in a sprint for survival, yet many governments have barely moved from the starting blocks. Instead of committing to more ambitious cuts in emissions, countries have argued over technicalities”.
Read more: COP25, a guide to the climate conference in Madrid: 5 things you need to know
