The latest United Nations climate talks have ended in Madrid with a compromise deal and widespread disappointment over the outcome.
The BBC says that “exhausted delegates” reached agreement on the key question of increasing the global response to curbing carbon. The agreement will see new, improved carbon cutting plans on the table by the time of the Glasgow conference next year.
However, this was not enough for many. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: “The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Laurence Tubiana from the European Climate Foundation, and an architect of the Paris agreement, described the outcome of the talks as “a far cry from what science tells us is needed”.
Discussions went at “snail’s pace”, The Guardian says, and had “low ambition”. This was a view shared by Oxfam International, whose interim executive director, Chema Vera, told CNN: “The world is screaming out for action but this summit responded with a whisper”.
May Boeve, executive director of climate campaign group 350.org, said the fossil fuel giants “got what they wanted - a weakened text that kicks most of the big issues down the road to COP26”.
Almost 200 countries met in Madrid for the talks, aimed at forging a new response to the climate crisis. The European Union and small island states pushed for more ambitious agreements but they were opposed by a range of larger nations including the US, Brazil, India and China.
Looking ahead, the BBC’s Roger Harrabin says the fact that next year’s climate conference will be held in Glasgow “heaps enormous pressure on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson” because he could be “humiliated” if he tries to lead other nations while his own government is still failing to meet its own medium-term climate targets.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
The world’s oldest rock art reveals hints about human migrationUnder the Radar The art is believed to be over 67,000 years old
-
Dive right into these 8 underwater adventuresThe Week Recommends It’s time to make a splash
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
The world is entering an ‘era of water bankruptcy’The explainer Water might soon be more valuable than gold
-
Climate change could lead to a reptile ‘sexpocalypse’Under the radar The gender gap has hit the animal kingdom
-
The former largest iceberg is turning blue. It’s a bad sign.Under the radar It is quickly melting away
-
How drones detected a deadly threat to Arctic whalesUnder the radar Monitoring the sea in the air
-
‘Jumping genes’: how polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
-
Environment breakthroughs of 2025In Depth Progress was made this year on carbon dioxide tracking, food waste upcycling, sodium batteries, microplastic monitoring and green concrete
-
Crest falling: Mount Rainier and 4 other mountains are losing heightUnder the radar Its peak elevation is approximately 20 feet lower than it once was
-
Death toll from Southeast Asia storms tops 1,000speed read Catastrophic floods and landslides have struck Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia
