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COP26 Final Agreement “deeply disappointing, missed opportunity”: Catholic Entity

Credit: Trócaire

Failure by global leaders to include loss and damage financing in the final COP26 agreement is “deeply disappointing,” the leadership of the overseas development agency of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, Trócaire has said.

In a Sunday, November 14 report, Trócaire official describes the failure as a “missed opportunity” by the powerful nations who have contributed most to climate change.

 In the report, Trócaire’s Head of Policy and Advocacy, Siobhan Curran, who attended COP26, says, “The deal fails to show solidarity in supporting shattered communities recover and rebuild after climate disasters.”

“There were huge expectations that COP26 would be the moment when wealthy countries stepped up and acknowledged they have done most to cause the climate crisis,” Ms. Curran says.

She adds in reference to leaders of wealthy countries, “They have turned their backs on indigenous communities, small-scale farmers, women and girls who desperately need support to recover and rebuild after climate disasters. This is a matter of great injustice.” 

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“The world is in an emergency, and we need world leaders to act like we are in an emergency,” Ms. Curran notes, and adds, “The clock is ticking. People are experiencing devastating consequences of climate inaction right now.”

Ms. Curran says while the commitment to “urgently deliver” $100bn for climate finance is welcome, “it is still a fraction of the amount that will be needed in the face of the climate emergency.”

In the November 14 report, the CEO of Trócaire, Caoimhe de Barra says, “A huge amount of work has been done in the last two weeks and a positive element was that the eyes of the world were focused on the critical issues resulting from the climate crisis.”

“It is now up to all of us to pressure decision-makers at home to act with the urgency that is required,” she adds.

Ms. Barra notes, “This was an exclusionary COP. Civil society found it difficult to access the COP sessions and many were excluded from the negotiation area.”

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“People from the global South and countries most affected by the climate crisis were under-represented at the COP, yet they are the most affected communities and their voices needed to be heard,” she adds.

Last week, Ms. Barra decried the role of powerful corporations in contributing to the climate crisis and environmental degradation.

She called on states to take “serious and far-reaching” transformations that are necessary in addressing effects of climate change.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.