COP26: Road to 1.5 just got harder with Glasgow get-out clause

Responding to the new climate agreement reached in Glasgow this evening, Rachel Kennerley, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“The road to 1.5 just got harder when these talks should have cleared the way to making it a whole lot easier. 

“The UK government cunningly curated announcements throughout this fortnight so that it seemed rapid progress was being made. Here we are though, and the Glasgow get-out clause means that leaders failed to phase out fossil fuels and the richest countries won’t pay historic climate debt. 

“With the COP moment over, countries should break away from the pack in their race for meaningful climate action and let history judge the laggards. The UK, as a country with huge historical responsibility for emissions, can end support for a mega gas project in Mozambique, pull the plug on the Cambo oil field, stop the new coal mine in Cumbria and drilling for oil in Surrey. After all the Prime Minister talked a big game at the beginning of the fortnight.”

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