Climate negotiators at the COP26 summit were hoping for a boost from the world’s most powerful leaders before embarking on two weeks of tense discussions about who should do what to slow the rise in global temperatures.
They got what they needed in the broadest sense – any agreement was preferable to acrimonious breakdown. Politicians promised to stop financing overseas coal plants, address methane leaks, and take more action to limit global warming this decade. However, they were unable to reach an agreement on a specific date for phasing out the dirtiest fossil fuel and reaching net-zero emissions.
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