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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Alan Evans, Jessica Murray, Patrick Greenfield, Tom Levitt, Bibi van der Zee and Samantha Lock

Cop26 president declares ‘fragile win’ for climate despite watered-down coal pledges – as it happened

That’s it from me, Samantha Lock, reporting to you from Sydney, Australia.

Nations will be asked to return next year to strengthen their targets on emissions cuts, which are so far inadequate, and to accelerate the phase-out of coal power and fossil fuel subsidies.

Make sure to follow along with all our Cop26 developments as reactions will no doubt continue to pour in.

Summary of key developments and reactions

After two long weeks of talks and negotiations, a deal has finally been struck that for the first time targets fossil fuels as the key driver of global warming, despite last-minute wrangling over coal objections.

The goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C, the key threshold of safety set out in the 2015 Paris agreement, may still be within reach. Key talking points included provisions on phasing out coal, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and providing money to poor and vulnerable nations.

The global community responded with both praise and disappointment as smaller island nations most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change fought to be heard and larger more developed nations agreed to take some compromises onboard.

  • India defended its last-minute revision to reject a clause calling for the “phase out” of coal-fired power. The nation’s environment and climate minister, Bhupender Yadav, said the revision reflected the “national circumstances of emerging economies.”
  • European Commission president Ursula don der Leyen declared the agreement “a step in the right direction”.
  • UK prime minister Boris Johnson said “serious breakthroughs” were made.
  • European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans said humanity must now “learn to live within planetary boundaries” while praising the ambitions made.
  • The UN secretary general António Guterres urged those who may be disappointed in the agreements made to “never give up” on the fight for climate action. “I know you might be disappointed. But we’re in the fight of our lives and this fight must be won,” he said.
  • Cop26 president Alok Sharma called the outcome of discussions “a fragile win” while praising the “hard work” and “great cooperation” from negotiators, ministers and all the parties.
  • US president Joe Biden said his administration’s Build Back Better framework “will be the largest effort to combat climate change in American history”.
  • Amnesty International described the outcome a catastrophic failure and a betrayal to humanity.
  • Canada’s minister of environment and climate change Steven Guilbeault pledged to do more with “public and private sectors are accelerating their actions” in the fight against climate change.
  • Fiji’s prime minister Frank Bainimarama called the outcome a “compromise” and said the 1.5C target leaves Glasgow “battered, bruised, but alive”. The leader thanked Pacific negotiators for their “heroic effort” to secure a path away from coal and fossil fuel subsidies in the final deal.
  • Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, described the deal as “not perfect” but acknowledged elements of the agreement are “a lifeline” for the country.
Delegates pose for a picture during the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow.
Delegates pose for a picture during the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

Updated

Uncertainty whether Australia will update 2030 emissions target as required under Cop26 deal

A senior Australian minister has welcomed the summit outcome but sidestepped questions on updating the 2030 emissions target as required under the Glasgow Cop26 agreement and instead quoted Shakespeare.

Greg Hunt has refused to say whether Australia under a Scott Morrison government will update its 2030 emissions target as required under the Glasgow Cop26 agreement and instead quoted Shakespeare.

Australian foreign minister and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor said in a joint statement on Sunday: “Australia’s 2030 target is fixed and we are committed to meeting and beating it, as we did with our Kyoto-era targets.”

However, Hunt dodged a series of questions when he appeared on the ABC’s Insiders program.

He said Australia “welcomed the outcome at Glasgow” as “important progress for the world” but would not answer questions on whether Australia would update its 2030 target next year.

Read the full story here.

Australia 'let down our Pacific neighbours', climate council says

Australia failed to rise to the challenge during Cop26 talks, the nation’s Climate Council, an organisation comprised of some of the country’s leading climate scientists, health, renewable energy and policy experts, has said.

Dr Simon Bradshaw, head of research at the organisation, says 140 countries lifted their game at Cop26 but Australia wasn’t one of them.

“The federal government showed up empty-handed to a pivotal moment in the fight for our future,” he said.

“They’ve let down our Pacific neighbours, as well as Australians who do not deserve to endure more frequent and severe bushfires, floods, droughts and heatwaves.

“As our allies and trading partners rise to the climate challenge, we’re stuck in a polluting past with a handful of countries including Russia and Saudi Arabia.”

Updated

Mexico has voiced its disappointment at the new agreement, saying they were “sidelined” in the deal.

“We believe we have been side-lined in a non-transparent and non-inclusive process,” the nation’s envoy Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama said in a statement to Reuters.

“We all have remaining concerns but were told we could not reopen the text … while others can still ask to water down their promises.”

However, the north American country said they would let the revised agreement stand.

India’s last-minute revision to reject a clause calling for the “phase out” of coal-fired power has been supported by the nation’s environment and climate minister.

Bhupender Yadav said the revision reflected the “national circumstances of emerging economies.”

“We are becoming the voice of the developing countries,” he told Reuters, saying the pact had “singled out” coal but kept quiet about oil and natural gas.

“We made our effort to make a consensus that is reasonable for developing countries and reasonable for climate justice,” he said, alluding to the fact that rich nations historically have emitted the largest share of greenhouse gases.

Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, has described the deal as “not perfect” but acknowledged elements of the agreement are “a lifeline” for the country.

“This Package is not perfect. The coal change and a weak outcome on loss and damage are blows,” she said. “But it is real progress and elements of the Glasgow Package are a lifeline for my country.”

Stege has pushed for stronger climate action by campaigning with the High Ambition Coalition (HAC), a grouping at the UN talks comprising many of the poorest and most vulnerable developing countries.

“We are a small nation, but we have moral authority – our position on the frontline gives us that,” she said. “We need to raise our voice, as these changes will affect the whole world in time.”

Fiji’s prime minister Frank Bainimarama has said the 1.5C target leaves Glasgow “battered, bruised, but alive”.

The leader thanked Pacific negotiators for their “heroic effort” at Cop26 to secure a path away from coal and fossil fuel subsidies in the final deal.

“The compromise we’ve struck will only count if nations now deliver,” he added.

The biggest achievements to come from the deal

After more than two weeks of intense negotiations, here are the biggest achievements of the deal.

Governments have been urged to strengthen their targets to cut emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases by the end of next year, rather than every five years, as previously required.

Targeting fossil fuels:

The pact for the first time includes language that asks countries to reduce their reliance on coal and roll back fossil fuel subsidies. The wording was contentious, though, with India requesting that the deal call on countries to “phase down”, instead of “phase out” unabated coal.

Payments to poor and vulnerable nations:

The deal made some headway on the demands of poor and vulnerable countries that wealthy countries responsible for most emissions pay up.
The deal, for example “urges developed country Parties to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country Parties from 2019 levels by 2025.”
It also, for the first time, made mention of so-called “loss and damage” in the cover section of the agreement.

Rules for global carbon markets:

Negotiators also closed a deal setting rules for carbon markets, potentially unlocking trillions of dollars for protecting forests, building renewable energy facilities and other projects to combat climate change.
Companies as well as countries with vast forest cover had pushed for a robust deal on government-led carbon markets in Glasgow, in the hope of also legitimising the fast-growing global voluntary offset markets.
Under the accord, some measures would be implemented to ensure credits are not double-counted under national emissions targets, but bilateral trades between countries would not be taxed to help fund climate adaptation - that had been a core demand for less developed countries.
Negotiators also reached a compromise that sets a cut-off date, with credits issued before 2013 not being carried forward. That is intended to ensure too many old credits don’t flood the market and encourage purchases instead of new emissions cuts.

Canada’s minister of environment and climate change has pledged to do more.

“We know we need to do more and that the world needs to do more. Canadians gave us a mandate to go further and faster in our fight against climate change and there is no doubt that we have our work cut out for us,” Steven Guilbeault said in a statement.

“As someone who has been at this for almost 3 decades, I will say that we haven’t and won’t be able to win every single battle in the fight against climate change. But I want Canadians to know that I have never seen more momentum or desire to beat climate change.

“The public and private sectors are accelerating their actions Canada is at the forefront and countries are working to keep 1.5C within reach. We can and we will pass down a planet to our kids and grandkids that is in better shape than how we found it. The fight continues in earnest and Canada will keep pushing.”

Updated

What is ‘loss and damage’ and is it included in the final deal?

The bitterly fought-over issue of compensation for poor countries over the destruction wreaked by the climate crisis, otherwise known as “loss and damage”, did not make it into the final deal.

Vulnerable and poor countries, which did little to cause the climate crisis, sought a commitment from rich nations to compensate them for this damage.

Although the deal did make some headway on the demands that wealthy countries responsible for most emissions pay up, developed countries have essentially just agreed to continue discussions on the topic.

The deal, for example “urges developed country Parties to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country Parties from 2019 levels by 2025.”

Activist groups respond, dismissing the deal as “weak” and “cunningly curated”.

Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace International, said: “It’s meek, it’s weak and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending - and that matters.

“While the deal recognises the need for deep emissions cuts this decade, those commitments have been punted to next year. Young people who’ve come of age in the climate crisis won’t tolerate many more outcomes like this. Why should they when they’re fighting for their futures?”

Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF, said: “This summit has seen the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C become the North Star guiding us all but a clear pathway is far from certain and we still have a long way to go.”

Gabriela Bucher, international executive director of Oxfam, said: “Clearly some world leaders think they aren’t living on the same planet as the rest of us. It seems no amount of fires, rising sea levels or droughts will bring them to their senses to stop increasing emissions at the expense of humanity.”

Rachel Kennerley, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “The road to 1.5 just got harder when these talks should have cleared the way to making it a whole lot easier.

“The UK government cunningly curated announcements throughout this fortnight so that it seemed rapid progress was being made ... Here we are though, and the Glasgow get-out clause means that leaders failed to phase out fossil fuels and the richest countries won’t pay historic climate debt.”

Updated

Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter said that while the final text of the agreement is far from perfect, the message to Australia and other fossil fuel producers is clear.

“The momentum is in the right direction,” Ritter said.

“The task ahead is relentless pressure on the fossil fuel corporations and reckless governments such as Australia’s.”

Australia’s minister for health, Greg Hunt, believes the UN climate change summit in Glasgow has made important progress for the world.

“We welcome the outcome at Glasgow. It’s important progress for the world. It’s important protection for Australia,” Hunt, a former environment minister, told ABC’s Insiders program.

Australia has set out a net zero emissions by 2050 target. It also set a 2030 target of minus 26 to 28% emissions but with a projection of minus 35%.

The UN agreement also calls on all countries to return the negotiation table next year to set stronger 2030 targets.

Repeatedly asked whether Australia would be updating this target, Mr Hunt said: “We’ve set our target. But what we’ll continue to do is update our projections.”

“We’re doing it without higher electricity prices and higher petrol prices.”

Police have arrested Extinction Rebellion protesters who blocked the lord mayor’s show in central London on Saturday.

The demonstrators say Cop26 talks failed and called on City banks to stop funding fossil fuel projects

The group put on a number of performances to express their disappointment with the Cop26 deal, including a ‘funeral procession’ they held for “failed COPs” outside an entrance to the summit in Finnieston Street.

Footage shared on social media showed officers dragging demonstrators out of the road after they disrupted the procession. Environmental activists could be seen blocking the route in the City of London, while forcing riders on horseback and the new lord mayor’s golden state coach to stop.

My colleague Tom Ambrose has the latest on that story here.

“Bitterly disappointing,” Amnesty says.

Here is the full statement from Amnesty International, provided to the Guardian, below.

“It is bitterly disappointing to see the many loopholes in the COP26 agreement which bow to the interests of fossil fuel corporates rather than our rights. The agreement fails to call for the phasing out of all fossil fuels and all fossil fuel subsidies – demonstrating the lack of ambition and bold action needed at this critical time. In addition, the focus on carbon offsetting by rich countries, without even putting in place adequate environmental and human rights protection measures, ignores the threat to Indigenous peoples and communities who risk being evicted from their land to make way for these schemes. It is a hollow and unacceptable substitute for real zero emissions targets.

“The decisions made by our leaders in Glasgow have grave consequences for all of humanity. As they have clearly forgotten the people they serve, the people must come together to show them what can be achieved. Over the next 12 months, we must stand together to call on our governments to take ambitious action on climate change that puts people and human rights at its centre. If we do not put our hearts and minds into solving this existential threat to humanity, we lose everything.”

Amnesty International reacts to Cop26 outcome, calling it a catastrophic failure and a betrayal to humanity.

“Leaders have catastrophically betrayed humanity at large by failing to protect people most affected by the climate crisis and instead caving into the interests of fossil fuel and other powerful corporations,” the organisation said.

Amnesty’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard added that the conference “failed to deliver an outcome” that protects the planet or people.

“Instead it has betrayed the very foundations on which the United Nations was built – a pledge first not to countries, nor states, but to the people. Throughout their negotiations, our leaders have made choices that ignore, chip away or bargain away our rights as human beings, often discarding the most marginalised communities around the world as expendable collateral damage,” Callamard said.

“Their failure to commit to maintaining the global temperature rise at 1.5°C will condemn more than half a billion people, mostly in the global south, to insufficient water and hundreds of millions of people to extreme heatwaves. Despite this disastrous scenario, wealthy countries have failed to commit money towards compensating communities suffering loss and damage as a result of climate change. Neither have they committed to providing climate finance to developing countries primarily as grants, a decision that threatens poorer countries – the least equipped to cope with the climate crisis - with unsustainable levels of debt.

High-profile initiatives were planned for the crucial summit. But as it went on, the lack of engagement with the toughest issues started to tell.

The Guardian’s environment correspondent Fiona Harvey provides insight into how Britain kept Cop26 alive.

Updated

US president Joe Biden has weighed in following formal agreements being made, noting his administration’s Build Back Better budget reconciliation bill.

Build Back Better focuses on a long list of social policies and programs ranging from education to healthcare to housing to climate.

“The Build Back Better Framework will be the largest effort to combat climate change in American history—and through this effort, we’ll grow industries here in the United States; create good-paying union jobs; and combat environmental injustice,” Biden said.

The Observer’s view on the Cop26 agreement is in.

“Countries still lack the radical ambition to avert disaster – this accord goes nowhere near far enough,” the piece states.

Read the editorial below.

Updated

Watch Cop26 president Alok Sharma’s statement following the deal below.

Updated

Alok Sharma calls the agreement 'a fragile win'

Cop26 president Alok Sharma has just addressed the media, calling the outcome of discussions “a fragile win”.

Sharma praised the “hard work” and “great cooperation” from negotiators, ministers and all the parties.

“I would say, however, that this is a fragile win,” he said in a statement.

“We have kept 1.5 alive. That was our overarching objective when we set off on this journey two years ago, taking on the role of the COP presidency-designate.

“But I would still say that the pulse of 1.5 is weak.

“That is why, whilst we have reached, I do believe, a historic agreement. What this will be judged on, is not just the fact that countries have signed up, but on whether they meet and deliver on the commitments.”

Updated

The UN secretary general urges those who may be disappointed in the agreements made to “never give up” on the fight for climate action.

“I know you might be disappointed. But we’re in the fight of our lives & this fight must be won,” António Guterres said in a statement over Twitter.

“Never give up.

Never retreat.

Keep pushing forward.

I am with you.”

European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans says following through with promises made from the talks means humanity must “learn to live within planetary boundaries” while praising the ambitions made.

“If we do what we promise here, humanity will learn to live within planetary boundaries,” he told the conference.

“We have almost 200 countries coming together on an agenda of such ambition that we have not seen since Paris. And I’ll give you one promise. It doesn’t stop here. It only starts.”

Hi I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be taking over from my colleague Alan Evans to guide you through the final developments in Glasgow.

After two weeks of talks, a climate deal has finally been struck which may take us a step closer to holding temperatures to a rise of 1.5C.

It’s been a long ride for most of us, including COP26 president Alok Sharma.

Asked about being emotional in the meeting, Sharma said he had six hours’ sleep in three days. “It is emotional - collectively we have achieved what I suspect very many people doubted until the last few days.”

Stay tuned as the world reacts.

Updated

UK prime minister Boris Johnson says “serious breakthroughs” have been made

“We’ve kept 1.5 alive and made huge progress on coal, cars, cash and trees,” he said late Sunday.

And while there is still so much that needs to be done to save our planet, we’ll look back at COP26 as the moment humanity finally got real about climate change.”

Updated

European Commission declares agreement a ‘step in the right direction’

Ursula don der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has hailed COP26 as “a step in the right direction” in a statement listing the positive outcomes from the past fortnight.

“COP26 is a step in the right direction. 1.5 degrees Celsius remains within reach; but the work is far from done,” she tweeted.

“The least we can do now is implement the promises of Glasgow as rapidly as possible and then aim higher.”

The European Commission president reiterated the three objectives, noting progress has been made.

“First, to get commitments to cut emissions also during this decade, to keep within reach the goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

“Second, to reach the target of 100 billion dollars per year of climate finance to developing and vulnerable countries.

“And third, to get agreement on the Paris rulebook.

“We have made progress on all three objectives,” she said.

Evening summary

After two weeks (and a day) of talks and two years of preparations, Cop26 has finally come to an end with the adoption of what is being called the Glasgow Climate Pact - though the reaction is only just beginning. Here’s a roundup of what’s happened so far today:

Things are calming down at the SEC conference centre, but no doubt the reaction will continue to pour in. My colleague Samantha Lock will be taking over shortly, and you can reach her as samantha.lock@theguardian.com or find her on Twitter at @samantha__lock

A representative of environmental NGOs is given one minute to speak. He is furious: he describes the agreement as “an utter betrayal of people”.

He attacks leaders for offering “empty words”, accuses them of “prioritising profits over black and brown lives”, and says they have “utmost disdain for the science”.

Joeri Rogelj, director of research at Imperial College London, said:

“As a scientist and citizen of this planet, I see reasons to be proud, to be hopeful, and to be deeply concerned. I’m proud because never before has science featured so strongly in the Cop decisions. I’m hopeful because many decisions make critical steps forward.

“Finally, I’m deeply concerned, because climate change is raging and is worsening each year we wait. The progress at Cop26 was the best the world was willing to do at this stage, but it is not enough, not by far. Global emissions need to decline, immediately, rapidly, and extremely urgently.”

Sharma said that the appearance of loss and damage in the text indicated a newly collegiate approach. “For the very first time in any one of these processes, loss and damage has appeared in the text. And that again demonstrates both the change and the way that people are approaching this, being more collegiate.

“And yes, there is work to be done and we will contribute to that. But I think the key issue is to recognise that loss and damage is an issue that deserves a lot of consideration.”

Asked what the consequences should be for countries like Australia which suggested they might refuse the call back to the table next year, Sharma said simply that “all countries signed up to this and it’s an international agreement”.

Sharma was asked how he felt about climate vulnerable communities for whom this deal was not enough.

He said: “I’ve seen for myself that when people talk about 1.5 to keep alive, that’s precisely what it means. So I understand the sense of disappointment. But what was really important for me was to get a deal over the line.”

“Of course I wish that we had managed to preserve the language on coal that was originally agreed. But nevertheless, we do have language on coal on phase down, I don’t think anyone at the start of this process thought that would be retained but it has”.

“That is down to the flexibility and the goodwill shown by many of the parties here today.” He said he wanted to thank “ all the parties who showed such grace in agreeing to it.”

Asked about being emotional during the meeting, he said he had had about six hours’ sleep in the past three days. “You know, it is emotional in the sense that, collectively as a team we have achieved what I suspect very many people doubted probably up until the last few days. So of course, it’s emotional but the hard work starts here”.

Alok Sharma explains position on coal language

Cop26 president Alok Sharma has been asked about countries who complained they were not able to reopen to text around coal.

He explained: “Having heard about what was coming down the line, I thought it was important that we try and build some consensus. I apologise if people felt that the process that took place was was somewhat opaque.

“I did go around and test the language with a whole range of groups and parties. It is because of the trust that the UK has built up in the past few years that people were able to accept the language at the end of the day, very reluctantly of course.”

“The weakening of the text regarding coal and fossil fuels is a clear failure for humanity,” says the Panamanian delegate. “A failure to science, and a failure to future generations.”

“Shame on us.”

Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of the UN climate convention, under which Cop26 took place, said:

Negotiations are never easy and while we seek an outcome that is acceptable to all, few return home completely satisfied. But this is the nature of consensus and inclusive multilateralism.

We are disappointed the $100bn pledge remains outstanding and I call upon all donors to make it a reality as by next year. The road to climate action does not end in Glasgow.

Despite [Cop26] accomplishments, we are still far off the trajectory of stabilising global temperature rise at 1.5C. It’s imperative we see more climate action this decade to achieve it. There can be no doubting the urgency of this task. This is a question of the long-term survival of humanity on this planet.

India’s delegate delivers a statement on behalf of the Basic bloc of countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China. He says they have shown “maximum flexibility” to arrive at an outcome that is acceptable to all, and that wealthy countries must now deliver on their pledges.

He says they are deeply concerned about finances for adaptation, saying not enough public money is being pledged and that the private sector cannot supply the necessary funds.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has commented on the outcome of Cop26.

Frans Timmermans of the EU, who has given several powerful and emotive speeches over the past days, has commented on the last-minute change of language on coal:

He said: “Let’s be clear, I’d rather not have the change. I was very happy with the language we had.”

But he added it was “like going from 24 carat gold to 18 carat, it’s still gold.”

“We are now making concrete steps to eliminate coal … and that countries that are so dependent on coal are willing to be part of that agreement is astonishing.”

Updated

The delegate from Egypt - where Cop27 will be held next year, in Sharm-el-Sheikh - thanks the UK hosts with a statement written in the form of a UN resolution, which is very much one for the wonks.

At Cop26, EU vice president Franz Timmermans is quoting a famous Glaswegian, comedian Billy Connolly: “Connolly says Scotland has two seasons: July and winter.”

Timmermans says he has not been able to verify that. But points to the “miracle transition” of Glasgow from the depressed post-industrial 1980s to the delightful city of today as evidence that transformations can happen, then says the work to reach 1.5C begins now.

Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia calls out the current government: “While Glasgow has shown the ambition mechanism at the heart of the Paris Agreement is beating, survival for those on the frontline of this climate crisis is still not certain.

“Countries like my own which refused to update their 2030 targets have not simply been granted a leave pass to do nothing for another five years — they will now need to come back to the table by COP27 next year.”

Updated

International activists for Extinction Rebellion have condemned the summit as a waste of time.

Winnie, 30, from Brazil say: “The problem with COP26 is that the tone is exactly the same of the other 25. It is all about the optimistic promise of a better, and yet abstract, future. As if we still have time to think and plan and don’t yet have to act. Climate change effects were present in the lives of people of Global South even before the COP1! And yet, they keep talking about this unrealistic future.”

Ornella, a representative from Argentina, said: “COP26 was a waste of time and resources. They didn’t listen to the best science available: we should act now to reduce emissions and there aren’t real commitments towards a drastic decrease of emissions caused by fossil fuels”.

John Jonathan Olwenyi, a climate and environmental activist from Uganda, said: “The indigenous people who are most affected were not fully represented, there was inequality and imbalance at COP26 to me. I feel it was COP for the rich not the poor. It was yet another registered failure because the same promises that our leaders always make were repeated again.”

“I think we can say credibly that 1.5C is alive. But its pulse is weak,” says Sharma. “History has been made here in Glasgow.”

The delegates give him a warm round of applause - many rise to their feet.

Updated

“This is real progress in keeping 1.5 within reach,” Sharma says but adds: “A gulf remains between short term targets and what is needed to reach the Paris goal. That work must start now”

Updated

Alok Sharma thanking all the people who have made this happen now. “This multilateral process can deliver.”

“This package sets course for the world to deliver on the promises made at Paris,” he says.

Action Aid’s US director of policy and campaigns is not blaming India for the late watering down of the coal resolution:

Updated

The prime minister of the host nation of Cop26, Boris Johnson, has yet to comment on the deal in Glasgow, but the leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer has:

It is welcome that an agreement has been reached at Cop26. There has been modest progress toward the challenges we face, which is important. But we have seen too many promises for tomorrow, not the action that the climate emergency demands today. Boris Johnson bears some responsibility for that. Glasgow has been a missed opportunity - a summit too often of climate delay not climate delivery. Of course global politics shape these summits, but the Prime Minister has hindered not helped. Boris Johnson never treated this summit with the seriousness it deserved, nor built the trust so critical to its success.”

There has also been reaction from the first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon:

Glasgow should be very proud of the warm welcome that it has given to Cop26. The Glasgow Climate Pact does not contain everything that every country wanted and there is understandable disappointment that key issues were watered down in the final hours, but there can be no doubt that the Glasgow summit has made progress on some important issues. Over the course of Cop26 Scotland has put £2 million on the table for loss and damage and, in doing so, we have become the first developed country to step up. Our action has already galvanised $3 million dollars of philanthropic funds to add to our contribution and a further one million euros from Wallonia. Developed countries can no longer in good conscience ignore this pressing moral issue. The demand for financial support for loss and damage must be met.

Alok Sharma now getting a warm round of applause after UN executive secretary Patricia Espinosa thanked him for all the hard work he has put in this year. Shout out to Glasgow too from Espinosa. She says how welcome they’ve all been made to feel and how often she has been told: “The people here are so nice. It really warmed our hearts”.

Some reaction here from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who says:

“The approved texts are a compromise. They take important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions.”

Guterres refers in particular to the argument over the wording around fossil fuels and coal in the document, where the original intention to call for the eventual ‘phase out’ of coal was replaced at the last minute with ‘phase down’. “I reaffirm my conviction that we must end fossil fuels subsidies. Phase out coal.”

But we do have some building blocks for progress, he says. “Finally, I want to close with a message of hope and resolve to young people, indigenous communities, women leaders, all those leading the climate action army. I know many of you are disappointed.” But, he says, “the path of progress is not always a straight line. Sometimes there are detours. Sometimes there are ditches.”

“Cop27 starts now,” he concludes.

My colleague Fiona Harvey has some more reaction on the issue of coal that has dominated this evening’s discussions with India’s late watering down of the final text.

One of the most contentious clauses in the final decision was a vaguely worded resolution to accelerate the phase-out of coal and “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, which was weakened to “phase down” by India at the last minute. Energy experts are clear that phasing out coal completely will be essential to stay within 1.5C of global heating, but the opposition to the inclusion of the reference to a phase out – particularly from major coal-using countries including China, India and South Africa – showed how hard it will be to gain a global end to the dirtiest fossil fuel in time to avoid a 1.5C rise.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said that more than 40% of the world’s existing 8,500 coal plants would have to close by 2030, and no new ones could be built, to stay within the limit. He said: “I would very much hope that advanced economies take a leading role and become an example for the emerging world. If they don’t do it, if they don’t show an example for the emerging world they shouldn’t expect from emerging world to do it.

Read the story in full

"Blah, blah, blah", Greta Thunberg's reaction to Cop26

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has given her verdict on Cop26 in Glasgow.

Here’s a brief summary: Blah, blah, blah. But the real work continues outside these halls. And we will never give up, ever.

Updated

Global Witness director of campaigns Seema Joshi, has said:

The fight to save humanity is on. In the words of Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate, anything above 1.5C global warming will be a “death sentence” in many parts of the world, with indigenous communities, people of colour and the poorest being hit hardest. It is difficult not to conclude the global political system is broken when over 500 fossil fuel lobbyists were given access to Cop26 and so many of those with the ideas and solutions for protecting our planet, including people whose lives and communities are already being devastated by the climate crisis, were left outside. We will not stop holding political leaders to account for the company they keep and the promises they make.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP, has said:

The influence of fossil fuel companies is clear. We know that fossil fuel companies had more representation at this summit than any single nation, and the outcome has reflected that. The Scottish Greens, along with our colleagues in Europe and across the globe, will continue to push for more action. 1.5C cannot just be an ambition it is a necessity. We will keep fighting for greater action from now, to Cop27 in Egypt and beyond.

Alden Meyer, senior associate, E3G:

We saw a call here in Glasgow for emergency actions to deal with the existential threat of climate change, and some important initiatives were launched, but whether enough countries raise their 2030 ambition enough to keep 1.5C in reach [when they return in 2022] will be the real test of the success of this Cop26. As a lifelong optimist, I see the Glasgow outcome as half-full rather than half-empty. But the atmosphere responds to emissions -- not Cop decisions -- and much work remains ahead to translate the strong rhetoric here into reality.”

José Gregorio Mirabal Díaz, elected leader of COICA (an umbrella organization that includes Indigenous leaders from all nine nations of the Amazon):

We will always have the hope that we can stop the climate crisis with the support of all, but until now the extractivism development model has deceived the world. This must change now. If the solution is to protect nature to avoid climate change, this can only be done with giving land titles for Indigenous peoples, allowing us to self-demarcate our territories so that external invasions do not come, whether of oil, gold, mining or any type of extractive exploitation.”

Some more reaction to the final agreement coming in now, collated by my colleague Damian Carrington.

Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the 2015 Paris deal and now CEO of the European Climate Foundation:

Paris is working. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, we have accelerated action, responded to the [scientists’] call to close the gap towards 1.5C, and coal is in the text. But there is a lot more to do. The commitments and claims of the first week on finance, forests, end of public finance for fossil fuel, methane and cars must now be translated into real policy and oil and gas production still to be addressed. This COP has failed to provide immediate assistance for people suffering now. I welcome the doubling of adaptation finance as climate impacts are every year stronger, [but] loss and damage must be at the top of the agenda for COP27.

Vanessa Nakate, climate activist from Uganda:

Even if leaders stuck to the promises they have made here in Glasgow, it would not prevent the destruction of communities like mine. Right now, at 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming, drought and flooding are killing people in Uganda. Only immediate, drastic emissions cuts will give us hope of safety, and world leaders have failed to rise to the moment. But people are joining our movement. 100,000 people from all different backgrounds came to the streets in Glasgow during COP, and the pressure for change is building.”

Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa:

This summit has been a triumph of diplomacy over real substance. The outcome here reflects a COP held in the rich world and the outcome contains the priorities of the rich world. We are leaving empty handed [on loss and damage] but morally stronger and hopeful that we can sustain the momentum in the coming year to deliver meaningful support which will allow the vulnerables to deal with the irreversible impacts of climate change created by the polluting world who are failing to take responsibility.”

On India’s late change to the text on ‘phasing down’ rather than ‘phasing out’ coal, Greenpeace International executive director Jennifer Morgan, has said:

They changed a word but they can’t change the signal coming out of this COP, that the era of coal is ending. If you’re a coal company executive this COP saw a bad outcome. It’s in the interests of all countries, including those who still burn coal, to transition to clean renewable energy, and richer countries need to do more to support the shift. Our future depends on it.

Ukraine has intervened to say they are disappointed but accept the text.

The delegate from Antigua and Barbuda, speaking on behalf of many developing nations, demands their “grievance” is registered over the failure to establish a loss and damage facility - a formal mechanism for the delivery of funds to nations hit by climate impacts. She said the group had considered asking for changes to the text, but will not so as to reach agreement. Alok Sharma tells her the grievance will be recorded.

Alok Sharma

Delegates gave a Alok Sharma a round of applause after his emotional apology. “I understand the deep disappointment but it’s vital that we protect this package,” he says calling for the revised text (with India’s change of wording on coal) to be agreed.

Updated

Marshall Islands and Fiji Islands are both raising their astonishment and disappointment at the fact that, despite having been told that they could not reopen the deal, it has now, at this very late moment, been reopened and changed. The representative for Antigua and Barbuda seconds that point. All will, however, accept the text.

Many countries are really angry about the last-minute watering down of the “phase out” to “phase down” of coal by India.

Liechtenstein says they are “deeply disappointed”, and says it is not ambitious or in line with 1.5C. “But for the greater good we must swallow this bitter pill.”

Mexico says: “We have been sidelined by a non-inclusive and non-transparent process.”

The Marshall Islands are “profoundly disappointed” and Fiji “immensely disappointed.

An emotional Alok Sharma apologises for the way the process has unfolded: “I am deeply sorry.”

Switzerland has registered its profound disappointment about the decision to “water down” the language around fossil fuels and coal. “We don’t want to phase down coal, we want to phase out coal”. But they will still accept the text.

Frans Timmermans says that it is disappointing to water down the language but this should not stop the text. The EU will work within the EU and with all partners to phase out coal. The partnership with South Africa should be a model.

India waters down coal resolution

India has just asked to change the final text of the agreement to say, ‘phase down’ rather than ‘phase out’ unabated coal power.

And then to ‘phase out’ inefficient fossil fuel subsidies while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national contributions and recognising the need for support for a just transition.

Updated

Alok Sharma thanks the conference for agreeing “something meaningful for our people and our planet’ and that keeps 1.5C alive.

Alok Sharma has just started the final session of Cop26 talks in Glasgow

Extinction Rebellion protesters
Extinction Rebellion protesters are seen during a die in protest outside the entrance to the Cop26 site on November 13, 2021 in Glasgow. Photograph: Peter Summers/Getty Images

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Rachel Kennerley, has said:

The road to 1.5C just got harder when these talks should have cleared the way to making it a whole lot easier. The Glasgow get-out clause means that leaders failed to phase out fossil fuels and the richest countries won’t pay historic climate debt. With the Cop moment over, countries should break away from the pack in their race for meaningful climate action and let history judge the laggards.

The UK, as a country with huge historical responsibility for emissions, can end support for a mega-gas project in Mozambique, pull the plug on the Cambo oil field, stop the new coal mine in Cumbria and drilling for oil in Surrey. After all the Prime Minister talked a big game at the beginning of the fortnight.

Updated

Alok Sharma has just asked delegates to take their seats and says the final session will start shortly. As a final agreement appears near, there is praise from some commentators:

But the lack of ‘loss and damage facility’ in the final agreement has been criticised. “Loss and damage” is the phrase for the destruction already being wreaked by the climate crisis on lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.

And this from Oxfam International executive director Gabriela Bucher:

Clearly some world leaders think they aren’t living on the same planet as the rest of us. It seems no amount of fires, rising sea levels or droughts will bring them to their senses to stop increasing emissions at the expense of humanity.

The request to strengthen 2030 reduction targets by next year is an important step. The work starts now. Big emitters, especially rich countries, must heed the call and align their targets to give us the best possible chance of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach. Despite years of talks, emissions continue to rise, and we are dangerously close to losing this race against time.

Developing countries, representing over 6 billion people, put forward a loss and damage finance facility to build back in the aftermath of extreme weather events linked to climate change. Not only did rich countries block this, all they would agree to is limited funding for technical assistance and a ‘dialogue’. This derisory outcome is tone deaf to the suffering of millions of people both now and in the future.

For the first time, a goal for adaptation finance was agreed. The commitment to double is below what developing countries asked for and need, but if realised it will increase support to developing countries by billions.

It’s painful that diplomatic efforts have once more failed to meet the scale of this crisis. But we should draw strength from the growing movement of people around the world challenging and holding our governments to account for everything we hold dear. A better world is possible. With creativity, with bravery, we can and must hold onto that belief.

Reaction to what appears to be the final text now coming in.

Greenpeace International executive director Jennifer Morgan said:

It’s meek, it’s weak and the 1.5C goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters. While the deal recognises the need for deep emissions cuts this decade, those commitments have been punted to next year.

Glasgow was meant to deliver on firmly closing the gap to 1.5C and that didn’t happen, but in 2022 nations will now have to come back with stronger targets.

Cop26 saw progress on adaptation, with the developed countries finally beginning to respond to the calls of developing countries for funding and resources to cope with rising temperatures. There was a recognition that vulnerable countries are suffering real loss and damage from the climate crisis now, but what was promised was nothing close to what’s needed on the ground. This issue must be at the top of the agenda for developed countries as the Cop goes to Egypt next year.

The line on phasing out unabated coal and fossil fuel subsidies is weak and compromised but its very existence is nevertheless a breakthrough, and the focus on a just transition is essential. The call for emissions reductions of 45% by the end of this decade is in line with what we need to do to stay under 1.5C and brings the science firmly into this deal. But it needs to be implemented.

The offsets scam got a boost in Glasgow with the creation of new loopholes that are too big to tolerate, endangering nature, Indigenous Peoples and the 1.5C goal itself. The UN Secretary General announced that a group of experts will bring vital scrutiny to offset markets, but much work still needs to be done to stop the greenwashing, cheating and loopholes giving big emitters and corporations a pass.

Updated

Extinction Rebellion protest

Meanwhile, on the topic of fossil fuels, in London today police have been arresting Extinction Rebellion protesters blocking the lord mayor’s show.

Demonstrators say Cop26 talks have failed and called on City banks to stop funding fossil fuel projects.

Footage shared on social media showed officers dragging demonstrators out of the road after they disrupted the procession.

Miranda Duncombe, a mother and member of the XR Families group, told PA Media:

Cop has failed to deliver the transformative changes needed to keep us at 1.5C of warming, a complete betrayal of our children. If the City of London was a country, it would be the ninth largest emitter in the world. The City’s banks and asset managers provide loans and investments for the projects and companies that are killing us.

Updated

It seems the final agreement will be known as the ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’... It’s 10 pages in total if you fancy reading it.

The wording on fossil fuels (I’ve added the bold formatting) is as follows:

‘Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low-emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, recognizing the need for support towards a just transition.’

Updated

Text is imperfect but has support, says Sharma

Alok Sharma

Alok Sharma concludes his remarks saying the “text is imperfect” but that there is “consensus and support for it”. He then adjourns the meeting to give everyone a little break, but promises to start the final session very shortly.

His advisor has just posted on Twitter confirming that the next session will be the closing one of the conference. Cop26, it seems, will not be extending into Sunday. Time to pack your bags and grab a last souvenir folks (in Glasgow). I can wholeheartedly recommend veggie haggis.

Updated

Alok Sharma now wrapping up the session. As my colleagues have reported, it appears an agreement is imminent.

I hope we can leave this conference united having delivered something significant for our people and planet together as one. These outcomes constitute an extremely delicate balance. If any of us tug at that it will all unravel. That is the sentiment I have heard this afternoon.

Updated

Nicaragua says it will support the draft agreement. Guatemala also lends its support, saying it takes a “glass half full” perspective on it.

The New Zealand delegate is downbeat and calls the agreement “the least worst outcome”. He says:

Is it enough to hold temperatures to 1.5C? I don’t think I can say it does?

But he says more talking and delay would be worse and supports the text.

Oil-rich Iran’s delegate is not happy with the landmark text in the Cop26 deal that requires the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies. “As a developing nation we need to use fossil fuels for economic development. We request you modify this paragraph.” I suspect that is not going to happen, given the widespread support for the text from other nations.

Success or failure? Cop26 protesters give their verdict

As negotiations come to an end at Cop26, what has been the perspectives of the thousands of activists who have been in Glasgow over the past two weeks of talks? The Guardian spoke to activists on the ground to find out their verdicts on the conference.

Updated

The representative for Trinidad and Tobago believe the package represents balance: there has been progress on adaptation finance, and on returning to the table next year, although the moves on loss and damage could have been stronger. He finishes by calling for everyone to return home now to begin implementation. Hear hear!

Indonesia, similiarly, sees some flaws but is prepared to support the text in the “spirit of collaboration” which has been mentioned by so many of the other delegates.

The Colombian delegate says: “This agreement is keeping 1.5C alive, although it is not perfect.” That goal - keeping that temperature target within reach and avoiding the worst impacts of the climate crisis - was the key ambition of the UK presidency of Cop26.

The Iceland representative says that there is a lot of encouragement here today, and most importantly there is hope. “We’re keeping 1.5 alive,” he tells the plenary, and it will be continued in the spirit of cooperation.

“The next time we meet, we’ll do better, and the time after that, even better.”

After him, the representative for Chile points out that the negotiations have been under way for months and now is too late to make substantive changes. It is imperfect, he says. But Chile supports it.

With the end seemingly in sight, the reaction to Cop26 has already started:

A number of country representatives – Nigeria, Palau, the Philippines and Turkey – have now all spoken saying that although they see imperfections, they broadly support the text.

The Japanese delegate is enthusiastic by the standards of COP speeches. He lauds the “tremendous results” here in Glasgow, and calls it a “brave new start”. The developing nations do not see it that way.

Alok Sharma now politely asking countries only to make new points - he wants to get this done.

The Maldives delegate delivers a bittersweet speech in accepting the deal. It is an “incremental step forward [and] not in line with the progress needed. It will be too late for the Maldives”. “This deal does not bring hope to our hearts,” she said.

“We are putting our homes on the line while other [nations] decide how quickly they want to act. The Maldives implores you to deliver the resources we need to address the crisis in small islands in time.” “This is a matter of survival.”

Brazil, widely seen as an environmental villain under its president, Jair Bolsonaro, talked of “crossing the finish line” – we must be getting close to the end of COP. The representative said they did not get what they wanted in the carbon trading rules, but that while the deal “is not perfect, it is workable”.

Updated

John Kerry speaks for the US now. He points out that if it’s a good negotiation then all the parties will be uncomfortable, and this, he thinks, has been a good negotiation. The US is poised to accept the text: “This is good, this is a powerful statement.”

He adds assurance that the US will engage constructively in dialogue on loss and damage and on adaptation. “It is time to come together for our future generations in a way that many of us really never thought we’d have a way to do,” he says.

Updated

Cop26 agreement 'looking likely' today

There is pretty unanimous backing for the text, meaning Cop26 is looking likely to finish today. Grenada’s delegate calls the text “imperfect” but calls for it to be adopted. “It is the best chance at this moment to keep 1.5C – we must move forward today. Then let us continue the fight tomorrow and in the days, months and years ahead until the job is done.”

Updated

Australia have spoken now (they won fossil of the conference yesterday) and said that they support the text. They highlight a few things that will need to be discussed – they’re particularly concerned about transparency, and making sure that rules are finalised. But they look forward, they say, to working with others.

Peru, who spoke just before them, have also accepted the text – they are also speaking on behalf of Chile, Colombia and a number of other Latin American countries.

Updated

Bhutan’s delegate describes the huge loss and damage harming her country already and her disappointment over the lack of a loss and damage facility. But, she says:

At this hour it is the time to unite around our shared commitment [to act on climate change]. The [deal] is not enough but we can take an incredibly important step forward today.

Updated

The representative from Bolivia says they still have issues and deep concerns about the text, but they have reflected deeply and “in the spirit of compromise we are able to support the document”. He goes on to raise a number of concerns, particularly around loss and damage. He says, also, that net zero is an illusion. “Real cuts are needed.”

Costa Rica keeps it simple: “It’s not the perfect package, but it’s the possible package.” The representative raises a couple of points. But this is a deal, she says, they can live with.

Switzerland grumbles but says it will accept the deal on the table in the spirit of compromise. “It is not abnormal that we have a COP text that leaves everyone a little unhappy, but we are afraid people are more than a little unhappy.”

Gabon’s delegate is concerned. “We do not have a guarantee within the $100bn [finance] that the debt burden on [developing countries] will not increase.” He wants grants, not loans. He also says plans for a proportion of carbon trading money to go to vulnerable nations are now weaker than the compromise agreed in 2019 in Madrid. “Africa’s red line on share of proceeds has been rubbed out,” he says.

The real issue for Africa is scaled-up finance for adaptation and loss and damage, he says. “Africa risks being destabilised by climate change. It is already in certain countries a matter of life and death. Some nations are failing.” We cannot go home without reliable finance, he says, adding that he needs more reassurance about proposed voluntary measures.

Updated

rainforest

A major hold-up at the Cop26 talks appears to be over Article 6, the Paris agreement provisions on carbon trading which wrecked agreement at the last Cop negotiations in Madrid in 2019. This is disappointing, as multiple parties told the Guardian in recent days that a deal on Article 6 was close and that key parties were prepared to compromise in the interests of getting a deal through.

Now many are pointing the finger of blame at a single delegate: Kevin Conrad, who represents Papua New Guinea. The issue is over REDD+, a system of carbon credits awarded for keeping forests standing. But these credits are based on avoided deforestation, which is controversial to many, and some argue that any carbon trading system under Article 6 should be more stringent in how it applies to such offsets.

Nat Keohane, a respected observer from the US, said: “[Conrad] is trying to blow up a strong Art 6 deal.”

Greenpeace also piled in: “Papua New Guinea – represented by New York lawyer Kevin Conrad is holding up the whole plenary at COP26. PNG want REDD+ credits put back into Article 6 rules on offset markets. REDD+ offsets are avoided deforestation – so a company might say they can keep polluting because they’ve paid for a forest that would have been chopped down to be saved. It doesn’t add up.”

Greenpeace said: “REDD+ was taken out of the Article 6 text overnight after countries who wanted to close the loopholes managed to get this offsetting scam out. REDD+ has done next to nothing to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions or rein in the big food and agribusiness companies driving deforestation - and has faced severe criticism from Indigenous leaders.”

Conrad told the Guardian in an email: “Dirty tricks. I don’t own any tropical forests, am not involved in any forest projects, and don’t have any financial interests. I do manage a non-profit that provides free capacity building and tools to comply with the Paris Agreement. We are audited annually. What I am fighting for is credit for the developing countries that have actually reduced rates of deforestation. And most countries do want to include forests.”

Updated

An assessment on what we’ve heard so far in this session from an experienced climate reporter for the Thomson Reuters Foundation:

The representatives from Fiji and the Marshall Islands both say that although they have caveats and reservations, the text also contains tangible progress. The Fiji representative points to the inclusion of fossil fuels and coal, while the Marshall Island representative notes the financing for adaptation has been doubled.

Updated

'Loss and damage' will not be in final deal - key concession

This is important, writes my colleague Damian Carrington, the delegate from Antigua and Barbuda, representing AOSIS (small island states) and G77 + China (130 nations) has conceded their demand for a “loss and damage facility” will not be in the final deal.

“We are extremely disappointed and we will express our grievance in due course.” But she said they will move ahead in the spirit of compromise.

Updated

Timmermans himself has now spoken. “Embrace this text” he implores delegates, speaking on behalf of the European union. He is concerned that people still want to change a sentence here and there but he says that over the last few months the presidency of Cop26 has listened to everyone and the text reflects that respectful listening process.

“Think of one person you know who will still be alive in 2050,” he says, asking people to put aside national concerns. “We’re only at the beginning” on finance and loss and damage he concedes. “But don’t kill this text.”

Updated

The Tuvalu negotiator
The Tuvalu negotiator shows a photo of his grandchildren as he speaks during an intervention at an informal plenary during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

The Tuvalu negotiator has just shown delegates a photo of his grandchildren as he spoke at Cop26, referencing a similar gesture yesterday made by the European Commission’s Vice President Frans Timmermans [see post in yesterday’s live blog by my colleague Damian Carrington]

Glasgow has delivered a message of hope and ambition,” say the Tuvalu representative. He warns that delegates must not act here on the basis of whether their actions will get them reelected at home. Acting on climate change is “critical to the survival of our communities”.

Updated

South Africa’s delegate joins India and China in criticising paragraph 36 in the text - that is the potentially landmark part that mentions a phase out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies for the first time ever in a COP text. South Africa’s delegate does not like it: “One size fits all is not a good solution,” he says. He asks to be heard, but does not specify alternative text.

Updated

Guardian columnist George Monbiot has left Cop26 unhappy at what he has seen, he says:

If they were serious about preventing more than 1.5C of heating and, potentially, systemic environmental collapse, they would decide to burn no more fossil fuels after 2030, and to launch today an emergency programme of fullscale economic transition. But they are not serious.

India’s delegate is not happy: “I am afraid consensus remains elusive ... Climate justice is the key to solving climate change.”

India’s delegate is pointing to how rich nations have benefited from fossil fuels: “They have enabled some parts of the world to attain a high standard of life” He says: “Every country has the right to its share of the carbon budget.”

He says India and other developing countries should be able to use fossil fuels responsibly and says fossil fuel subsidies can be useful, such as gas replacing solid fuels in indoor cooking. He is kicking back against the mention of coal and subsidies in the text.

Updated

The representative from Tanzania has made a strong call – supported by Mali – to include the term “systematic observation” in the text. This is basically good data and information on weather, etc, in order to help with adaptation and support early warning systems, particularly in countries that are suffering very badly from extreme weather events.

Updated

An Associated Press reporter has said this leaflet was left lying outside the national delegation offices at the conference.

China’s delegate has now taken the floor and says: “The text is by no means perfect but we do not intend to reopen the text.”

He does suggest some edits, stressing the need for “balance” – that usually means one part of the deal is stronger or weaker than China wants. “We should meet each other halfway,” he says.

Updated

The Guinea representative has just taken the floor and spoke on behalf of G77 + China, saying that the spirit of the negotiations has been extremely good, with solidarity and compromise sought.

Although they were extremely disappointed with some of the paragraphs on loss and damage, and felt the text was very far from the concrete calls for a facility to manage this issue, in the spirit of compromise they would view this as steps in the right direction.

Updated

Last bit from Sharma:

Please ask yourselves, whether ultimately, these texts deliver for all our people and our planet. We know that the climate crisis is a truly global challenge, and ensuring the cop 26 outcomes match the scale and urgency of our situation is our shared responsibility. So I invite you to join together this afternoon to bring this collective effort to a successful conclusion.

It is clear Sharma has no interest in Cop26 taking the record for the latest finish time, currently held by Cop25, which took place in Madrid in 2019, finishing just before 2pm on the Sunday.

Here is the list of closing times for every previous Cop conference dating back to 1995 in Berlin, in order of lateness.

Updated

Sharma continues:

We have arrived at what I believe is the moment of truth. And this is the moment of truth for our planet, for our children, and our grandchildren. And you all know that the world is willing us on to be bold, to be ambitious.

And so much rests on the decisions that we collectively take today. These texts are now clean. And we believe that they are the product of a transparent, inclusive and policy driven process, and has been founded on listening and the search for consensus.

As the presidency, we have effectively had to take into account and balance the views of almost 200 parties. And I completely understand that parties sometimes have different priorities. And yet, we all ultimately have to sign up to the same agreement.

Updated

“We are at the moment of truth,” Sharma tells delegates. He says the “texts are clean” – meaning all the bracketed options have been taken out. But that does not mean the deal is done. Nations have to agree to the text.

He asks countries to ask themselves not how they can leverage this critical moment in the talks to their advantage, but: is the deal enough?

Updated

Alok Sharma urges delegates to approve text

China’s chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua
China’s chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua gestures as he attends the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Alok Sharma has just started the “informal stocktake” on the floor of the Cop26 summit, delayed from this morning, where nations get to air their problems with the latest draft agreement text.

Sharma urges delegates to approve the latest agreement text and says he wants to finalise the talks today.

My colleagues Damian Carrington and Bibi van der Zee are at the conference to keep us updated about what is being said.

China’s chief climate negotiator, Xie Zhenhua has been putting on a positive face for the cameras this afternoon. So let’s hope that’s a good sign of an agreement.

Tom Levitt here taking over the live blog throughout the rest of the afternoon. You can email me at tom.levitt.casual@theguardian.com, or send me a message on Twitter at @tom_levitt.

Updated

Well, 14:30pm has been and gone. The plenary has still not started but the UNFCCC live stream shows UN climate envoy John Kerry locked in talks with China’s top negotiator Xie Zhenhua.

While we are waiting for the plenary to begin, take a read of Damian Carrington‘s analysis of disagreement over “loss and damage” in Glasgow. Here is an extract.

“Loss and damage” is the phrase for the destruction already being wreaked by the climate crisis on lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. It has become a critical issue at Cop26, with the potential to make or break an ambitious deal in Glasgow.

Vulnerable and poor countries, which did little to cause the climate crisis, arrived with a determination to win a commitment from rich nations to compensate them for this damage.

It has become perhaps the most bitterly fought-over issue of all, with the low income nations believing they have a moral right to this money – some call it compensation or reparations. Rich parties such as the US and EU are very reluctant to comply, fearing exposure to unlimited financial liabilities.

Read more here.

Plenary delayed until 14:30 GMT – Sharma

The informal stocktaking plenary has been postponed until 2.30pm Glasgow time. The Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, said: “I think it would be useful to allow a little more time for discussions to take place.”

The plenary was meant to start at 12 noon, but the delegates formed huddles to discuss the most critical sticking points, very likely to include the gulf between the positions of rich and poor nations on money for loss and damage caused by climate impacts – called reparations by some – and rules for carbon markets to prevent loopholes.

Big huddles formed around the US delegate John Kerry and the EU vice-president Franz Timmermans: both are under pressure from the 130 nations calling for action on loss and damage. For the media, who are not close enough to hear what is being said, it was international diplomacy as a mime act.

During his statement, Sharma insisted the meeting would finish today: “It is my sincere intention to close the Cop this afternoon. We will close.”

He said the deal currently on the table could not satisfy everyone but was a balanced package: “It really moves things on for everyone.”

US climate envoy John Kerry and Cop26 president Alok Sharma speak to delegates.
US climate envoy John Kerry and Cop26 president Alok Sharma speak to delegates. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Updated

Negotiating huddles delay start of plenary

Contrary to the wishes of the Cop president, Alok Sharma, the informal stocktaking session has still not started in Glasgow. He has twice asked negotiators to sit down but two main huddles on the floor of the Cairn Gorm plenary continue to grow in size. John Kerry is at the centre of one while the EU’s Frans Timmermans is holding court in another.

We may not be able to hear what is being said on the floor but overnight, the EU, US and UK have faced accusations from developing countries of resisting a loss and damage facility in the Glasgow agreement.

Mohamed Adow, the director of the energy and climate thinktank Power Shift Africa, said:

On the latest draft text, loss and damage funding is missing. It’s not an accident. The rich world don’t want to pay up for the damage they’ve caused.

We’ve made loss and damage central to the multilateral process. It is now the third pillar in the climate talks in a way the rich, polluting, world cannot ignore.

However, we didn’t get the facility that the vulnerable countries need to deal with the loss and damage they already face. Instead, the rich world wanted to force on them a never ending talk shop in the name of a ‘dialogue’.

The developed countries; the EU, US and UK, resisted. It’s important that developing countries don’t fall into the trap of an endless dialogue and are better off deleting all mention of unnecessary dialogues from the text.

Updated

Just in case you thought any of the arguments playing out in Glasgow were new...

Alok Sharma has asked the plenary to take their seats twice but informal conversations are still going on between negotiators. John Kerry spoke with the EU’s Frans Timmermans a short while ago. The US climate envoy has also been in deep conversation with the negotiator for Guinea, who represents the G77 + China group.

Good afternoon, I’ll be guiding you through developments in Glasgow over the next couple of hours. First, if you would like to watch proceedings, here is the link on the UNFCCC’s website. We will also have a stream at the top of the live blog shortly.

Yesterday’s session was gripping and, at times, emotional as negotiating blocs explained what the climate crisis meant for them while reacting to the draft text. The European Commission’s vice president Frans Timmermans held up a picture of his one-year-old grandson as he spoke. We should expect more of the same this afternoon as negotiators discuss the third draft of the Cop26 text.

COP26 in GlasgowEuropean Commission’s Vice President Frans Timmermans shows a picture of his 1-year-old grandson.
COP26 in Glasgow
European Commission’s Vice President Frans Timmermans shows a picture of his 1-year-old grandson. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

A key sticking point in Glasgow is how the global north supports developing countries to adapt to the consequences of global heating they are not responsible for while also helping them limit their own emissions. Saleemul Huq, the director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development, lays out the disagreement and tension.

The Guardian’s environment team will bring you reaction from the plenary as it happens.

Updated

I’m now handing the live blog over to my colleague Patrick Greenfield for the afternoon.

He will cover the presidency’s stocktaking plenary which was due to start at 12pm, but is running an hour late – nothing like some last-minute urgency to get things over the line.

Updated

Negotiators prepare to react third draft

Negotiations at the Cop26 summit look set to continue, as countries wrangle over a third draft text that summarised the outcome of the most important climate conference since the Paris agreement of 2015.

The third iteration of the draft outcome, known as a cover decision, was published on Saturday morning. Negotiating teams then had to confer with senior officials in their countries’ capitals, as some of the decisions required of them are likely to require high-level approval from governments.

Alok Sharma, the UK cabinet minister who is president of the Cop (conference of the parties under the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change, the parent treaty to the Paris accord), has been engaged in a round of frantic shuttle diplomacy with the 190-odd nations represented.

Cop26 president Alok Sharma arrives for a press conference on day 14 of the conference in Glasgow
Cop26 president Alok Sharma arrives for a press conference on day 14 of the conference in Glasgow Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Sharma joked at a press conference on Thursday that his calm demeanour had earned him the nickname No Drama Sharma, one borrowed from Barack Obama. All of his calm is likely to be needed as fractious countries bombard him in the closing hours with demands for changes to the draft, in line with their country’s policies.

What no one can say at this stage is when the fortnight-long conference might finally end. Previous conferences have gone on late into Saturday night, or even later. The last Cop, presided over by Chile but held in Madrid in December 2019, finally wrapped up on Sunday afternoon. Delegates are hoping to avoid such an over-run this time.

The cover decision has legal standing under the Paris accord, but is not in itself a treaty. Its legal language may appear limp, with its plethora of carefully graded imperatives: “urges”, “requests”, “invites” and “calls upon”. Whether “urges” is stronger or weaker than “requests” was the subject of a fierce Twitter debate on Friday, for instance.

The Paris agreement was held up for hours on a frigid night on the outskirts of the French capital in December 2015 as countries disputed the appearance of a “shall” in the text when some countries wanted a “should”.

The most substantive issue of this text is: will countries agree to come back next year to re-examine their national commitments to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, with a view to strengthening them where necessary, in line with the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C?

The three architects of the Paris agreement – Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister who presided over the talks; Laurence Tubiana, his chief French diplomat; and Christiana Figueres, the UN’s climate chief at the time – told the Guardian they viewed it as essential for countries to return next year with such a view in mind.

For the coming hours these words will be pored over, mauled, unwritten and rewritten many times in airless rooms by exhausted masked negotiators in Glasgow.

Updated

Katie White, director of advocacy and campaigns at WWF UK, said despite amendments to the Cop26 cover agreement, the negotiations have put the world “in a better position than we have ever been in terms of political action”.

She said this had been galvanised by action from business and pressure from citizens, adding that the discourse is now “politically anchored” around the goal of 1.5C, and not “well below 2C”.

Speaking at a press conference at the summit in Glasgow, she said:

We are pleased that the UK presidency has championed nature and we are pleased that the link between nature and 1.5C is there (in the text) and we can’t hope to meet 1.5C without nature restoration.

She said there is “still a lot to be done” and urged the UK presidency to listen to the voices of the most vulnerable countries “who here, in this forum, have the opportunity to speak up”.

White said that over the next 12 months, the UK government must focus on “delivery, delivery, delivery”, saying it will “set the stage for even greater ambition” at the next Cop.

A scientist’s reaction to the current state of play at Cop26 – the world is now in “damage limitation mode”.

Prof Richard Betts MBE, from the University of Exeter and Met Office Hadley Centre, and director of the technical report for the third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3), said:

We’re now in damage limitation mode. Despite some progress on promises to cut emissions and protect forests, we’re still not yet on track to limit global warming to low levels, so adaptation to current and locked-in climate change is now even more urgent.

We’ve already made some kinds of extreme weather more likely or more severe, and we’ve now committed the world to some level of long-term rises in sea level, so we will need to deal with these consequences.

We could still avoid further increases in these impacts with greater ambition on emissions cuts, but until we completely stop building up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we will still continue the heating of the climate and causing ever-more severe risks and impacts.

Updated

UK called out for cutting aid before Cop26

Mohammed Adow, director of climate thinktank @PowerShftAfrica and a member of Climate Action Network International, is calling out the UK and the developed world for their failure to deliver the financing the developing world so desperately needs.

“If you had your house burned by fires or destroyed by sea level rise, the [proposal] the rich world wanted was only going to pay for the expert to assess the damage, but not to pay you to rebuild your house,” he said this morning, soon after the latest draft text was published. Adow warned last night that “vulnerable countries can’t afford to leave Cop26 with this current version of the text on loss and damage”.

This morning he has pointed out: “The country that is actually [running] the talks, the UK, actually cut aid to climate-hit countries, just before we got to Glasgow. So it has little credibility when it comes to getting the rich world, who are historically responsible for causing climate change, to create a facility and increase funding for loss and damage.”

Updated

A stocktaking plenary with Cop26 president Alok Sharma is due to start at 12pm, where we’ll find out how countries feel about the draft text published this morning and what changes they want to see. Stay tuned...

Against a bright blue sky, Extinction Rebellion protesters have processed with a piper through the gravestones of Glasgow’s Necropolis before lying in front of tombs declaring Cop26 and all the summits prior to it as a failure.

Karen, from the Isle of Barra, said:

We are here grieving for a planet that has been sacrificed by the failure and stupidity of Cop26. The bare minimum needed from Cop26 were commitments to leaving oil in the ground and an immediate halt to fossil fuel funding.

Anything less than that is idiocy. We know exactly what we need to do and we’re not doing it.

Updated

In an interview published by China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, the country’s environment minister has criticised the failure of countries to reach an agreement over finance for developing nations.

Zhao Yingmin, part of the Chinese delegation at Cop26, said wealthier nations had failed to deliver on the $100bn promised during the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009 to help developing nations strengthen their resilience to climate change, and that meant trust had been damaged.

He said:

Twelve years on, the developed countries have failed to honour their commitments, which has tremendously jeopardised political mutual trust.

The developed countries have not yet shown their sincerity and confidence in delivering their pledges. Therefore, both sides are still negotiating. It seems that more efforts are still needed.

He also said it was “very unreasonable and unfair” that developing countries had submitted ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in line with the Paris agreement, while developed countries had failed to deliver financial support.

Updated

There is lots of anger around this morning on the language on loss and damage in the new text, with many feeling the current stance is too weak.

Some strong words from Tasneem Essop, the executive director of Climate Action Network, who described that latest text as a “clear betrayal” by rich nations:

The latest draft text from Cop26 is a clear betrayal by rich nations – the US, the EU and the UK – of vulnerable communities in poor countries.

By blocking the AOSIS and G77+ China proposal, representing 6 billion people, on the creation of a Glasgow Loss and Damage Finance Facility, rich countries have once again demonstrated their complete lack of solidarity and responsibility to protect those facing the worst of the climate impacts.

We urge developing countries to act in the interest of their citizens and stand strong in the face of bullies

This tweet from Saleemul Huq (director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development) sums up how the issue has become such a deal breaker at this Cop. Leaders are now tackling two problems; how to prevent global heating and how to deal with damage that has already been done by the climate crisis.

Updated

Greenpeace International’s executive director, Jennifer Morgan, has said the retention of the line about fossil fuels in the draft is a “breakthrough” but warned some countries could try to get it removed in talks today.

“The key line about fossil fuels is still in the text. It’s weak and compromised, but it’s a breakthrough, it’s a bridgehead and we have to fight like hell to keep it in there and have it strengthened. Today’s plenary could witness a defining moment with a clutch of countries seeking to strike that line from the deal and dilute plans to force nations to come back next year with better emissions plans.

“The coal and subsidies language now includes a reference to a just transition and that is very welcome. Fossil fuel interests should be put on notice, the deal on the table is weak but if they gut it they’ll have to answer to the young, to people on the frontline of climate impacts and ultimately to history. Today the eyes of the world are on Glasgow and the loudest voices in the room need to be the nations now fighting for their lives.

“Developed countries, especially the United States, still need to step up on finance, throwing their weight behind the vulnerable nations pushing for increased public adaptation funding and recognition of the loss and damage they’re suffering from climate impacts. Even at this late hour president Biden should send a signal to his team in Glasgow that they shouldn’t block public adaptation funding and finance for loss and damage from richer nations to developing countries threatened by rapidly rising temperatures.”

Updated

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Glasgow. At the entrance to the SEC, many people are taking pictures on their way in – hoping, presumably, that there will be a deal today and that this will be the last time they have to see this view from this direction.

An unexpectedly sunny day in Glasgow. But let’s not read too much into that ...
An unexpectedly sunny day in Glasgow. But let’s not read too much into that ... Photograph: Bibi van der Zee

For two weeks this place has been humming with energy, people rushing up and down the halls purposefully, or talking into phones with urgent expressions. There are far fewer here now, and the energy is much quieter.

At the coffee stands, the barista says everyone she’s been serving is absolutely knackered. She started her shift at 8am, but the person she took over from told her there were people here from 5am. They’re waiting for the final deal, and then they’ll start to strike the stand.

Updated

Some more analysis of the new draft text

The new draft text has relatively few changes, showing that the 196 countries at Cop26 are narrowing down on the most contested issues that will make or break a strong agreement.

The call for the phaseout of coal and fossil fuel subsidies remains, which is positive as many observers thought fossil fuel-rich nations would get it deleted. It has been slightly softened again, with “accelerating efforts towards” inserted before “coal phase out”, rather than a straight call for a phase out. That may be the price of keeping the clause in - remember no Cop document has ever named fossil fuels.

Also added to this section is “recognising the need for support towards a just transition”, highlighting that funds may be needed to retrain fossil fuel industry workers.

The all-important “ratchet” remains - this requests nations to return to the next Cop in 2022 with more ambitious pledges to cut emissions. The current ones to 2030 are forecast to lead to a catastrophic 2.4C of global heating.

The most substantial changes are on “loss and damage” - the compensation vulnerable and poor countries want for the destruction already being cause by the climate crisis they did little to cause. It is perhaps the most bitterly fought section of all, with low income nations believing they have a moral right to this money and rich nations like the US and EU fearing exposure to unlimited financial liabilities.

The new text introduces a specific mention of “funds”:

Decides that the Santiago network will be provided with funds to support technical assistance for the implementation of relevant approaches to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage

The previous text said “will be supported by a technical assistance facility to provide financial assistance”. It’s a small change, but a group of 130 nations, called the G77 + China and representing 85% of the world’s population, have been demanding the inclusion of text to establish a “loss and damage facility”, a specific delivery mechanism for funding, rather than more vague words about assistance in setting something up.

The text also says:

73 - Decides to establish the [NAME] dialogue between parties, relevant organizations, and stakeholders to discuss the arrangements for the funding of activities to avert, minimise and address loss and damage associated with the adverse impacts of climate change to take place at the first sessional period of the SBI, concluding at its 60th session

This gives a specific timetable for dedicated work on loss and damage. These are concessions from rich nations, but it may not be enough. The G77 + China have been clear loss and damage is a critical issue for them.

Saleemul Huq, a veteran from Bangladesh of every Cop, said:

While Mohamed Adow of thinktank Power Shift Africa said:

There has also been a little movement on funding for adaptation - preparing for climate impacts like floods and droughts. The new text specifies the date - 2019 - from which the money must be doubled by 2025. That implies about $40bn a year.

Updated

Saleemul Huq, of the International Center for Climate Change and Development, is also not happy with the current draft:

Climate analyst Ed King is monitoring how far the conference is overrunning:

At the time I’m sending this [9.59am on Saturday], Cop26 is in 12th position in the league table of Cop closing times, about to overtake Cop10 in Buenos Aires (which wrapped up at 10.58 on a Saturday morning). Will Glasgow beat Paris and Copenhagen, or break Madrid’s shameful record, by closing later than 13.55 on Sunday?

Oxfam have responded to the new draft text. Tracy Carty, head of the charity’s Cop26 delegation, said:

““Here in Glasgow, the world’s poorest countries are in danger of being lost from view, but the next few hours can and must change the course we are on. What’s on the table is still not good enough.

“We need the strongest possible outcome to ensure governments come back next year with strengthened emission reduction targets that will keep 1.5C alive. And decisive progress on finance to help countries adapt and for the loss and damage endured.

“Negotiators should come back to the table armed with cans of Irn-Bru and stop at nothing to get an ambitious deal over the line.”

The veteran climate activist Bill McKibben has written in today’s Guardian about how any progress that has been made is as a result of protest and citizens holding governments to account.

Copenhagen failed because there was too little movement building in the years preceding it, allowing a leader like Barack Obama to go home empty-handed and pay no political price. The global climate movement remedied that deficiency before Paris: many governments had no choice but to reach some kind of credible deal and hence a workable framework emerged, albeit without the actual pledges to make it capable of the task. Glasgow was supposed to be the place where countries lived up to the resolutions they’d proudly announced in France, and the decidedly mixed results reflect, at least in part, the difficulties activists have faced over the last few years.

Read the full piece here:

Updated

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, has weighed in on the new draft:

“This text is still pretty good and one I hope that all countries can embrace. It continues to request countries to deliver more ambitious pledges next year.

“Countries will leave Glasgow painfully aware that collectively current pledges for emissions cuts by 2030 are not ambitious enough. They are not aligned with the goal of the Paris Agreement of holding the rise in warming to well below 2C degrees, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C. The draft text also still calls on all countries to accelerate efforts towards the phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

“Importantly the UK presidency has now published draft text that outlines a good process for agreeing a significant increase in investment in developing countries to help them make their economies zero-carbon and climate-resilient. It is time for countries to stop arguing over the text and to start taking the action that has been promised, particularly to increase the flows of financial support to developing countries.”

Australia have been accused of “hiding behind others” and opposing progress in the climate talks. Bill Hare of Climate Analytics said:

“The overall view of Australia is it’s the worst I have seen it in my career. It’s not exposing its position publicly but it’s clear that it doesn’t want a process next year for all countries to come back and close the emissions gap for 2030.”

My colleague Adam Morton in Australia has the full story:

Last night Australia was also awarded the “colossal fossil” award by activist group Climate Action Network for its obstructive approach to the talks. “The only good thing about Australia being at Cop is they have the best coffee at their pavilion,” said the activists as they presented the award.

Panama’s chief negotiator, Juan Carlos Monterrey, is not at all happy with the latest draft:

It has been announced that the stocktaking session in which delegates express their opinions on the current state of play has been moved to noon - it was expected to begin at 11am.

Sébastien Duyck of the Center for International Environmental Law has a very useful tool that tracks changes between draft versions:

Hopefully the negotiators didn’t spend too long debating whether “policymaking” is one word or two:

screenshot of UN third Cop26 draft text

Updated

One key area is paragraph 36, which refers to fossil fuels. Here’s the old version:

36. Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies and the adoption of policies for the transition towards low-emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up clean power generation and accelerating the phaseout of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels;

and here’s the new version:

36. Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, recognizing the need for support towards a just transition;

The first draft was the first UN document since the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 to mention fossil fuels, which was seen as a major step, so environmentalists will be pleased to see the language made it through the night.

However, the qualifier “inefficient”, which was added for the second draft, remains. In yesterday’s stocktaking plenary many poor countries objected to this language as they said it could be used as a loophole to continue fossil fuel subsidies. However, others defended the language, saying it was essential for governments to be able to alleviate high fuel prices for citizens, such as with winter fuel allowances.

The mention of support for a just transition is also a positive step.

Updated

The key areas in which people will be examining the language will be to do with climate finance for poor countries, the “ratchet” mechanism by which countries return with improved pledges, and money for loss and damage – the impacts of climate breakdown that can’t be avoided.

Yesterday’s text is here and today’s is here, for those of you who want to examine them.

Updated

New draft text published

The text has just appeared on the UN website. Analysts will immediately start poring through it to see what has changed overnight – we’ll bring you the reaction here as it happens.

Updated

Welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of day 13 of the Cop26 climate summit.

Negotiations were supposed to end at 6pm local time last night, but to nobody’s surprise they have overrun into Saturday. You can read our latest news story on the state of play here:

Yesterday evening, the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, put a pause on negotiations overnight so delegates could get some rest, before a new draft text is expected to be revealed this morning. Previous Cops have often been marked by delegates negotiating late into the night; it remains to be seen whether Sharma’s decision to let people rest signals a confidence things can be wrapped up today or a recognition that the talks are not close to agreement.

We’ll bring you all the latest news and analysis as it happens. You can email me at alan.evans@theguardian.com or find me on Twitter at @itsalanevans

Updated

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