Pirate's Cove

They couldn’t figure out a way to take money from producers and give it to “developing nations” nor implement more fascist government controls on citizens and private entities. But, hey, they got a good vacation paid for by taxpayers in Madrid

U.N. Climate Talks End Without Meeting Goals

Climate negotiators failed to strengthen targets to cut emissions or to create a global carbon-trading system, two main goals of the 2015 Paris accord, as the impending U.S. exit from the pact exacerbated challenges to cut record-high planet-warming gases.

Delegates from nearly 200 nations sparred for two weeks in Madrid at the annual United Nations climate summit without setting new emissions targets before next year’s U.N. convention in Glasgow or creating a framework to reward and encourage efforts to cut emissions.

“Regretfully, after all the hard work that you have all done we couldn’t get to an agreement,” said Chile’s Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt, who presided over the summit that ended Sunday. “The new generations expect more from us.”

Financing to help poorer countries transition into less-polluting technology also proved contentious. The issue deepened the divide between less-developed countries that account for a fraction of greenhouse-gas releases and economic powers responsible for the vast majority of it.

The hotels were fantastic, as well as the food, though!

(New Scientist) António Guterres, the UN secretary general, said he was disappointed with the outcome, and that leaders had missed an opportunity to be more ambitious on climate change mitigation, adaptation and finance for poorer countries. “But we must not give up, and I will not give up,” he tweeted.

Claire Perry O’Neill, the former UK climate minister who will be president of the Glasgow summit, argued it was better to have no deal on the carbon markets than a bad one. The UK would “pull no punches” in making the scheme work for everyone next year, she tweeted.

There was also no progress on “loss and damage” – the principle of vulnerable countries hit by climate-linked damage being able to claim economic losses from richer ones – and long-term financing to help poorer countries.

Of course, we mostly hear the same thing year after year after year, going back to the first Conference On The Parties twenty five years ago. Heck, going back even further.

UN Climate Summit Ends With a Whimper

The longest global climate conference in its 25-year history came to an end Sunday after negotiations ran nearly two days over its initial deadline. Unfortunately, talks in Madrid went about as well as they do every year at the United Nation’s (UN) historically ineffective summit: There was a lot of finger-pointing, not a lot of commitments to actionable change, and plenty of crucial decisions pushed to next year’s docket to worry about another day. (snip)

Greenpeace executive director Jennifer Morgan, was more direct in her statement about the outcome. She called it “totally unacceptable” and said “[d]ecision-makers now need to go home, regroup and think about how to move forward as we head into a critical 2020.”

Yup, they need to book their fossil fueled flights, limos, and hotel rooms for next year in Glasgow. Probably not the best spot for a meeting in the beginning of December. Rather chilly.