COP talks could run late into Saturday

The climate agreement currently being negotiated at the COP 26 UN climate summit has missed its Friday deadline, and is now expected to run into Saturday.

A new draft is expected from conference president Alok Sharma at 8:00AM today.

The previous drafts have received mixed reactions from business and political opinion.

The initial draft reported on Thursday evening urged countries “to accelerate the phasing-out of coal and subsidies for fossil fuels”.

The specific reference to fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal, was new for a UN climate document.

Friday’s updated draft shifted tack, asking that countries speed up their  transition to “clean” energy, “including by rapidly scaling up clean power generation and accelerating the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels”.

However it has been suggested that large emitters such as China and India could play a part in thwarting the pledge.

Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, commenting on the latest COP draft text has said in a statement: “It’s clear that the aim of this summit to keep 1.5 alive is in mortal peril.”

Tracy Carty, head of Oxfam’s Cop26 delegation has complained that the latest draft is “still missing some vital elements,” adding that the “most glaring” flaw “is the lack of any mention of the finance plan for loss and damage that was proposed last night by the G77 group of developing countries.”