GLASGOW (Reuters) – Time is getting tight. With the U.N. climate agency publishing the first draft of a final COP26 deal on Wednesday, negotiators are poised to begin the most contentious chapter of this year’s talks to tackle global warming.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged countries overnight to “put aside differences and come together for our planet and our people”.
He was expected to travel on Wednesday from London back to the conference, and together with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to meet with national and civil society negotiators.
Officials said they expected fireworks after the draft deal’s publication, as countries barter over the fine details. But going into Wednesday, big divisions remained.
Among them were disagreements over carbon market rules, the timeline for updating emissions-cutting pledges and payments to climate-vulnerable nations.
Meanwhile, a raft of announcements relating to the greening of transportation were expected. Emissions from the transportation sector, including vehicles, airplanes, trains and ships, have more than doubled since 1970. The sector now accounts for about 24% of global emissions.
(Reporting by Katy Daigle; Editing by Giles Elgood)
