COPwatch9: did you really expect more?

In the final update on the COP26 climate talks, Ian Welsh and climate journalist Mike Scott give their impressions on the events in Glasgow and reflect on the new climate pact that emerged, debating if it was just about as good as could have been expected.

Among the pact highlights they consider are the agreements on deforestation, coal and methane, and the drawing up, finally, of rules on how the global carbon markets will work. And, around the central question of the entire event of whether we can keep to 1.5C of warming – as COP26 president Alok Sharma conceded, it’s arguably still alive, but even if it is, it’s only just.