11/12/2019 – DAY TEN OF THE COP25
During the tenth day, the social agents expressed their impatience at the tenuous response of world leaders in the fight against Climate Change. It was started by young people from Fridays For Future occupying the main plenary room demanding real and ambitious commitments to achieve the Paris goals.
This COP that is being held in Madrid is facing a new wave of popular clamor that is pressuring the leaders to take urgent measures regarding the ambition to reduce emissions; international financing for adaptation and mitigation; and on the definition of rules for carbon markets and the terms of Nationally Determined Contributions, also called NDCs for its acronym in English.
Nervousness increased in the afternoon when more than 300 people protested inside and were prevented from re-entering. The international situation generated by fears of the arrival of a recession, the sensitive trade agreements, Brexit, and the announcement of the United States to withdraw from the Paris agreement only sow doubts about the agreements that can be reached at the end of the week. The European Union seems to be the one with the greatest ambition among the most polluting countries and regions on the planet. China, India, Russia, the US and the EU represent 60% of emissions, so if a greater involvement of China (27% of global emissions), India (7% of emissions) and Russia (4, 6%), the objectives of not exceeding 2ºC of the planet’s temperature seem unattainable.
Given the difficulties that arise in establishing objectives and regulations between countries, local entities claim their role as protagonists in action against Climate Change. The naturalization actions and the measures to reduce the emissions generated by transport are the most applauded policies. In any case, if the involvement of the most polluting countries does not reach all this effort of municipalities and citizens will not be enough.
The decisive hours begin where we will know if there are binding agreements or if these two weeks of travel, organization, presentations, social movements and the spectacle of the international meeting have served for something.