“They don’t mean anything. It’s just meaningless words and false promises. It is time to act.”
One group of protesters that attracted cheers along the streets of Glasgow were chained together and wore masks of Scott Morrison,Rupert Murdoch,Donald Trump,Vladimir Putin and Jair Bolsonaro,whom they described as the”five climate criminals”.
Among a group of delegates and activists from Pacific countries that were marching together was the Reverend James Bhagwan,Secretary-General of the Pacific Conference of Churches.
He said the travel difficulties caused by the pandemic had left the region under-represented in key negotiations,with only about half the usual contingent in place.
Mr Bhagwan said there were “empty chairs at the table and empty mats on the floor” in sessions. “There are fewer of us to attend crucial negotiations and remind diplomats of the urgent need to act.”
He said he hoped the energy of the marchers outside the so-called blue zone had prompted more action inside.
COP president Alok Sharma has urged negotiators — working in teams addressing a range of issues from the design of a global carbon market to how emissions reporting might be accelerated and made more transparent — to work faster.
“It is not possible for a large number of unresolved issues to continue into week two,” he wrote in a note to negotiating teams on Friday,warning them he planned to hold a stocktaking meeting over the weekend. It is understood that meeting has now been delayed until Monday.
Loading
Mohamed Adow,director of energy and finance at the think tank,Power Shift Africa,said via Twitter he believed there was a disconnect growing between the announcements and pledges outside the negotiating rooms and resistance from some nations to take serious action inside them.
Inside the negotiations,battle has broken out between those advocating for greenhouse gas cuts in line with the more ambitious climate target mentioned at the Paris Agreement of 1.5 degrees,with others pushing for the 2-degree goal also included in the Paris wording.
Three alliances of developing nations accounting for about 100 countries along with much of the European Union are backing the more ambitious goal,along with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
United States climate envoy John Kerry who has spent the past two years travelling the world advocating for action said in a press conference on Friday:“I can’t tell you what will come out,but we are striving for an outcome that is ‘implementable’.”
Get weekday updates on the climate summit that will shape our future. Sign up to our COP26 newsletterhere.