As COP25 finally ends, UN sec gen says ‘I’m disappointed’

The longest United Nations climate talks on record have finally ended in Madrid on Sunday with a compromise deal. The 25th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) tagged COP25 was scheduled for December 2 to 13, but went on till the 15th.

After the two extra days, exhausted delegates finally agreed a deal that will see new, improved carbon cutting plans on the table by the time of the climate conference in Glasgow, next year.

All parties will need to address the gap between what the science says is necessary to avoid dangerous climate change, and the current state of play which would see the world go past this threshold in the 2030s.

Supported by the European Union and small island states, the push for higher ambition was opposed by a range of countries including the US, Brazil, India and China.

However, a compromise was agreed with the richer nations having to show that they have kept their promises on climate change in the years before 2020.

On Sunday, Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general, tweeted: “I am disappointed with the results of COP25. The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis.”

Carolina Schmidt, the conference president said, “The consensus is still not there to increase ambition to the levels that we need. Before finishing, I want to make a clear and strong call to the world to strengthen political will and accelerate climate action to the speed that the world needs. The new generations expect more from us.”