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After more than two weeks of negotiations, no agreement was in sight at the climate summit in Egypt. European Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans is worried about the outcome. “All EU ministers are ready to walk away if we don’t get a good result.”
The climate summit in the coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was supposed to end yesterday, but two topics remain under discussion: accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the creation of a global climate damage fund for countries vulnerable to the consequences. Climate change.
The United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom put forward a proposal on the latter last night. “It is very important for the US to support this now. They have always been very much against the compensation fund,” says correspondent Helen Ecker, who is present at the summit. The European Union has already announced that it supports such a fund.
The big question now is how other powerful countries feel about it, especially China. China is still officially seen as a developing country, but in practice, according to the European Union, this is no longer the case. “We can only accept a compensation fund if it targets the most vulnerable countries,” says Timmermans.
The European Commissioner stresses that the 1.5 degree warming target must be maintained as a maximum. He says he has seen little movement from the other side in recent hours. “We will not accept a consequence if steps are taken again. We would rather no deal than a bad deal.” Despite his concerns, Timmermans believes a positive outcome is within reach today.
NOS correspondent Yusuf Abjeej reports that the transcripts of the negotiations state that a limit of 1.5 degrees of warming is under discussion.
Climate and Energy Minister Rob Gettin, who is also in Sharm el-Sheikh, is gloomy. He says some points from last year’s Glasgow climate agreement are under discussion again.
“I don’t think anyone is happy about the progress that was made last night,” says Gettin. “We’re still waiting for some text messages, but it looks like we’re back in Glasgow, which is unacceptable.”
