NEW YORK. An imperfect but powerful compromise. This is how the Americans judge the painstakingly reached agreement in Glasgow as part of COP26 to accelerate the fight against climate change, where the language of the final document was limited to the end. This was made clear by the special envoy for the climate John Kerry even before the final vote, quoting an old saying made famous by Voltaire: “The best is the enemy of the good. Yes, we know that perfection is the enemy of the good. But in that sense the agreement is good. It’s a powerful statement.” . The one just concluded, he said, “is the fruit of good negotiation that leaves all parties unhappy. But to achieve the shared goal of keeping the Earth’s temperature at the level indicated by scientists, there was no other way than to mediate between the different positions “.
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And he did it to the end, looking for a language acceptable to everyone in order to establish new rules for hard coal. On the strength of that agreement reached with Beijing three days ago, which surprised everyone a bit. Yes, the pact between the two biggest polluters in the world, with the Americans responsible for 24.6 of global emissions and the Chinese for 13.9 as yesterday New York Times. Together they reaffirmed their willingness to respect the Paris agreements and cooperate on new rules. With the Dragon committed for the first time to develop a plan to reduce methane even if it did not specify times and limits. “The problem is so great that it pushed us to overcome conflicts and competition in order to find the right way forward”, said the usual Kerry who yesterday reiterated it to the last: “The delegates have done a very important job and they were able to come up with a powerful statement. ” Underlining that the commitments made represent an important responsibility, of course, but also, taking up a definition from the president Joe Biden, an opportunity: “Making choices that affect the entire planet is a privilege. We have united for future generations”.
In short, the Americans are satisfied: “We are happy that there has been an increase in ambitions and that everyone has been part of the process”, insisted the special envoy. Already. But regardless of the results, it is impossible not to notice how even within the Democratic Party, the American commitment is in any case guided differently. This is demonstrated by the words of the speaker of the Chamber Nancy Pelosi, and different from those of the New York “socialist” congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (the godmother of the Green New Deal, among the few to have voted against Biden’s infrastructure plan because at the same time the Build Back Better “human infrastructure” package, which also contains the 555 billion euro plan, was not brought to the vote in the Senate. dollars on the environment) even if both arrived in Glasgow with the same delegation.
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Pelosi said she was optimistic, reaffirming how much President Biden is “ready to take up the challenge of the moment”, especially after presenting his plan to cut methane emissions by 50 percent by 2030: “America is back to lead the fight against the climate crisis “he therefore reiterated, relaunching his words. Aoc, as everyone here calls the young New York congresswoman, does not think so: “We have not yet recovered our moral authority. We are taking steps, of course. But we must go beyond good intentions, to gain international respect. For considering ourselves truly leaders in the fight against climate change, we must first really reduce emissions “.
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