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COP26: New Draft Calls for Phase-Out of Coal and More Money

Fifty countries most vulnerable to climate change said the new COP26 draft still doesn't go far enough.

COP26: New Draft Calls for Phase-Out of Coal and More Money
A cyclist passes vapor rising from cooling towers and chimneys at a coal powered power plant. (Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg)

A new draft of the a climate pact being debated at COP26 talks in Glasgow on Friday maintains most of the key elements climate-watchers were looking for -- though with some tweaks.

The latest draft, which was negotiated overnight now “requests” countries to come back with better climate-action plans for 2030 by next year, instead of being “urged” to. It also allows for “different national circumstances,” which is seen as a kind of get-out clause.

The text slightly weakens language on asking for a phase-out of fossil fuels subsidies and coal. It now calls for the phase-out of “unabated” coal power and of “inefficient” subsidies for fossil fuels. That line has faced pushback, and many climate-watchers were expecting it to be axed by now. 

In positive news for developing countries, there’s a call for rich nations to double the amount of money -- by 2025 -- they spend helping poor countries adapt to climate change.

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