Taking stock of the results of the 26th climate summit, the devil is hidden in the details
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) ended on November 13, 2021, in Glasgow, with mixed reactions. While UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that the summit achieved a significant step, climate activists like Greta Thunberg labeled it as an empty conference. However, experts have summarized that the conference made progress, especially in terms of increasing the number of countries committing to net-zero carbon emissions and setting new targets to reduce emissions. Despite the lack of concrete progress in funding, countries promised to reach the funding targets by 2023. The summit also highlighted the need to gradually reduce funding for fossil fuels. Furthermore, the conference succeeded in implementing the Paris Agreement's sixth article, which had been controversial due to the different economic impacts it would have on different interest groups and countries. However, the specific implementation's effectiveness in reducing global carbon emissions is still debatable, and the delay in reaching a consensus on the article was the main reason for the summit's one-day extension.