COP26 outcome ‘in the balance’ as reaching agreement will be a ‘big challenge’, president says
The president of the COP26 UN climate summit has told Sky News it is unclear if the crucial meeting will be a success and it is currently hanging “in the balance”.
Just days from the summit, Alok Sharma said: “This is going to be difficult.
“This is going to be a big challenge.
“This is getting almost 200 countries to reach consensus on some of these difficult issues that have been outstanding for six years now.
“It is in the balance.”
His comments add to growing concerns about the success of COP26 as world leaders head first to the G20 summit in Rome and then on to Glasgow.
Mr Sharma was referring, among other things, to a lack of agreement on phasing out coal, and to the fact that some countries, including India and China, have yet to submit more ambitious plans for reducing carbon emissions, despite promising to do so.
China has already committed to peak carbon emissions before 2030, and net zero by 2060, and has indicated that it is both unwilling and unable to move further.
But US special envoy on climate change John Kerry has said that the world will miss its global emissions targets unless this happens.
Alok Sharma has said the outcome of the summit is ‘in the balance’
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Mr Sharma said: “China is the biggest emitter in the world.
“What China does matters.
“If you look at all of the G20 collectively they are responsible for 80% of global emissions, and China’s responsible for around 27% of global emissions … but actually what every country does matters as well.”
“17 out of the 20 have said that they’re going to get to net zero by the middle of the century, but of course that’s not enough.”
In light of the UN Secretary General’s comment that the disparity between what has been pledged and what needs to be done is actually caused by a leadership gap, I asked the COP26 president if there was a problem with his leadership.
He said: “Ultimately, this is world leaders who made commitments in Paris, and it is world leaders who have to deliver.
“My job as COP26 president is effectively to act as shepherd-in-chief, to listen to people to try and bring consensus.
“I can’t force any one country to do anything.”
“And you know, (Glasgow) is a big, big ask and I would argue this is actually tougher than Paris, and Paris was a historic agreement.
In terms of the personal steps he is taking to be more environmentally friendly, Mr Sharma said he has given up meat.
He admitted to still having his diesel car and committed to swapping it for a fully electric one as soon as he has “a bit of time after COP”.
He was reluctant to be drawn on his exact plans for reducing the number of flights he will take for personal reasons, saying: “I’ve not had a personal holiday flight for some time.
“But look … we all need to sort of look at what we can do in our own lives.
“But … this is not about forcing people or telling people what to do.”
Returning to the looming summit, Mr Sharma conceded that although much progress has been made, there still is a long list of issues to be resolved.
Apart from coal and more ambitious targets, this includes agreement on global carbon markets, transparency and accountability protocols, and how much money lower income nations will receive to adapt to the changes that are already locked in as a result of global warming.
Mr Sharma said: “What keeps me up at night is just thinking about the complexity of this.
“I’ve described it in the past as playing multi-dimensional chess, and we’re now getting towards the end of the chess game.
“What we want is for us to win for the world collectively, so that we can say to our generation, but also the future generations, that we delivered when it mattered.”
That’s the ambition.
Geopolitics may get in the way.
In a few day’s time, we’ll find out.
World
Arrest warrants issued for Israeli PM Netanyahu and former defence secretary Gallant over alleged war crimes
Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence secretary Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The warrants are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks.
It is unclear if he is still alive, following an airstrike that Israel claimed killed him earlier this year.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
The new UK Labour government said in the summer it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN general assembly. Pic: Reuters
Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
Netanyahu previously spoke of his “disgust” at the suggestion the ICC would seek an arrest warrant for him.
Read more:
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A video released by Hamas in 2005 shows a man identified as Mohammed Deif. Pic: AP
Warrant for Hamas leader
The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
Four people have died and a number of others are in hospital after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol.
According to reports, six British travellers are among those being treated in Laos, after falling ill last week.
Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen are reported to have died in what authorities fear was a mass poisoning.
On Thursday, it was confirmed an Australian woman – named as Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne – had become the fourth person to die.
Holly Bowles Pic: Facebook
Her friend Holly Bowles is being treated in hospital after calling for medical help at their accommodation, Nana’s Backpackers Hostel.
In a statement given to the Herald Sun, Ms Jones’s family said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our beloved daughter and sister, Bianca Jones, has passed away.
“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.”
Simone White Pic: Squire Patton Boggs
One of the British travellers being treated in hospital has been named as Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent.
According to The Times newspaper, she became ill last week in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.
Ms White’s friend, Bethany Clarke, a healthcare worker also from Orpington, posted on a Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers.
“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” she wrote.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed one of its citizens was also unwell in Laos and could be a victim of methanol poisoning.
Ukraine has fired British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, a source has told Sky News.
The UK and Ukraine have not yet confirmed the use of the long-range weapons in Russia but their deployment has been widely reported in British media.
Footage has been posted on Telegram reportedly showing wreckage from one of the missiles in Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine.
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What are Storm Shadow missiles?
Ukraine war: Follow latest updates
The UK had previously said that British tanks, anti-tank missiles and other military equipment could be used inside Russia as part of Ukraine’s defence – but had kept restrictions on the use of long-range missiles.
It comes just days after US President Joe Biden authorised the same policy shift.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine had fired six US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) in the Bryansk region.
A Russian state news agency cited the ministry as saying the missiles caused no casualties.
The missile is also called SCALP by French forces. File pic: AP
Missiles will have a ‘marginal effect’
Sky News’ security and defence editor Deborah Haynes says Ukraine’s allies have been pursuing a strategy of ambiguity and “it remains to be seen whether we get official confirmation on this from the UK or from Ukraine”.
“There is also the uncomfortable reality that Ukraine’s stockpile of Storm Shadow missiles is severely limited, so their use will only have a marginal effect.”
Meanwhile, Sky’s military analyst Sean Bell says he would be amazed if this attack really marks the first time such a missile has been used by Ukraine to hit inside Russia.
“I would be quite surprised if they haven’t been used for selected targets further on [into Russia] because they are… very, very effective at striking Russian logistics hubs, headquarters, ammunition dumps,” he said.
British forces used Storm Shadows in the Iraq war in 2003. File pic: Reuters
The same missiles are also used by French forces, using the alternative name SCALP, and are made by the Anglo-French arms manufacturer, MBDA.
Embassies shut over air attack fears
Earlier, the US and some other Western embassies in Kyiv closed amid fears Russia was preparing a major air attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Read more from Sky News:
Son of Norway’s crown princess in court
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been asking Kyiv’s allies to give his troops the capability to strike deeper behind Russian lines for over a year.
Mr Biden’s change of policy is linked to changing tactics by the Russians, which began deploying North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces.
The White House is set to announce more military aid for Ukraine worth up to $275m (£217m), the US defence secretary has said.
Lloyd Austin said the support would “meet critical battlefield needs” and would include munitions for rocket systems, artillery and tank weapons, along with anti-personnel landmines.
Russian politician Maria Butina and Donald Trump Jr, the son of US President-elect Donald Trump, both warned that Mr Biden’s decision over Ukraine’s usage of long-range missiles could spark the start of a third world war.
Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold required for the use of nuclear weapons after the US move, adding to fears the conflict could escalate.
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