COP26: India, China’s Coal Move Comes Under Criticism

COP26 president Alok Sharma; pic courtesy: ANI

London: COP26 president Alok Sharma said on Sunday that China and India will be required to explain to developing nations as to why they pushed to water down language on efforts to phase out coal at the COP26 conference.

The United Nations climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, concluded with a deal that targeted fossil fuels for the first time on Saturday.

India, supported by China along with other coal-dependent developing countries, turned down a clause calling for a “phase out” of coal-fired power. The text was altered to “phase down”.

“In terms of China and India, they will on this particular issue have to explain themselves,” Sharma was quoted as saying at a news conference at Downing Street in London by news agency Reuters.

“Whether the language was ‘phase down’ or ‘phase out’ doesn’t seem to me as a speaker of English to make that much difference. The direction of travel is pretty much the same,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

According to Johnson, COP26 had delivered a mandate to cut the use of coal-powered generation that was backed up by real action from individual counties, the news agency reported.

“When you add all that together, it is beyond question that Glasgow has sounded the death knell for coal power,” The British PM said at the press conference.

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