President of COP26 Alok Sharma says nations must rise to the occasion in the final hours of the climate summit in Glasgow.
Britain's president for COP26 Alok Sharma (right) speaks with UNFCCC executive secretary Patricia Espinosa following an informal stocktaking session at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow. Photo: AFP
After two weeks of talks COP26 is coming to a close, but talks have continued past the 6pm deadline (local time) and are expected to go into the night.
The details of a final deal need to be discussed until all 195 countries agree.
Alok Sharma said there were a small number of key issues that are yet reach consensus and require urgent attention.
"We have come a long way over the past two weeks and now we need a final injection of that can-do spirit, which is present at this COP, so that we get this shared endeavour over the line," he said.
Sharma said nations need to be pragmatic to find workable solutions and deliver on the high ambition set by world leaders at the start of the summit.
The Marshall Islands pushed for stronger action to mitigate the loss and damage caused by climate change in the final deal at COP26.
Marshall Islands climate envoy, Tina Stege welcomed the commitment to double adaptation finance.
Climate activists and delegates stage a walk out in protest of the ongoing negotiations yesterday. Photo: AFP
"A consensus is emerging across developed and developing nations that a collective doubling of adaptation finance is required and this marks real progress, we will not settle for anything less.
"An area that has slipped back is loss and damage. This issue is too important to settle with a workshop," she said.
A step back on such a critical issue must not be allowed, Stege said.
A softening of language around commitments to end the use of coal and other fossil fuels in the second draft of the deal has also become a sticking point in negotiations.
It called on national to accelerate a phase-out of unabated coal power and of "inefficient" subsidies for fossil fuels.
The United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry told negotiators they cannot weaken the text further.
"How could we possibly in 2021, knowing what the evidence is, be wishy-washy on that subject? Those subsidies have to go and we are the largest oil and gas producer in the world and we have some of those subsidies and President Biden has put in legislation to get rid of them," he said.
