- The historic pledge to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) could be abandoned
- First drafts of the COP27 pact are expected to be issued tonight
- But the promise that the Earth will not be allowed to warm by more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) could be dropped, with China pushing for the wording to be dropped
The historic pledge to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) could be abandoned during talks in Egypt, according to insiders to the negotiations.
First drafts of the pact to emerge from the United Nations Cop 27 meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt are expected to be issued tonight.
But the promise that the Earth will not be allowed to warm by more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) could be dropped, with China pushing for the wording to be dropped.
The Cop – short for Conference of the Parties – is an annual attempt to thrash out a global agreement to curb climate change, and is attended by some 45,000 delegates from 200 countries.
China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter by volume, is urging behind the scenes that countries should aim for 2°C (3.6°F) as it would require less drastic restrictions on its industry.
The 1.5c limit emerged at the Paris Climate talks in 2015, when it was agreed that countries should limit warming ‘by well below 2°C (3.6°F), preferably to 1.5°C (2.7°F)’.
US climate envoy John Kerry has made thinly veiled digs that China wants to scrap the limit.
