1.5°C goal

One of the key contentions is the push by rich nations to focus only on the 1.5°C goal. Developing nations such as India have said the cover text should reiterate the Paris Agreement goal that said: “limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C.”

“Some rich countries have also pushed for removal of ‘equity’ and ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ from the 1.5°C goal language. This is unacceptable as impacts of 1.5°C warming is dangerous for developing nations more... India has opposed it," said an observer representing a developing country. 1.4°C 1.2

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

0 -0.2 -0.4

NASA Copernicus NOAA

Met Office Hadley Centre JMA

Berkeley Earth

1860 2020 US climate envoy John Kerry said on Sunday that a few countries have resisted mentioning a 1.5°C global goal in the official text. “They cannot reword the Paris Agreement and not provide finance. There is no delivery of promised finance,” a member of Indian delegation said.

By Jayashree Nandi

The IPCC, in a working paper, had earlier said that meeting the long term goal of the Paris Agreement requires phase down of all fossil fuels. “Selective singling out of sources of emissions, for either labelling them more harmful, or labelling them ‘green and sustainable' even when they are sources of greenhouse gases, has no basis in the best available science]."

Observers say the EU and the UK will also support phase down of all fossil fuels in cover text, but the US may not agree. The latter is keen on focus on coal on which developing nations are dependent.

Global carbon emitters

In gigatonnes of CO2 per year 40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

1960

2022*