India, China win coal, fossil fuel changes in Cop text

India and China today won a last-minute battle to water down the language on coal and fossil fuel subsidies in the cover text of the UN Cop 26 climate summit.

It is the first time a Cop meeting's final cover text explicitly mentions coal and fossil fuels, with previous summits having failed to get them past the drafting phase. India and China intervened in the final formal plenary session earlier, requesting a change to the language, most notably to "phase down" unabated coal instead of "phase-out".

India tabled the language to the summit which now includes a clause explicitly stating that countries may take into account the needs of the poor in their policies on fossil fuel subsidies. The text approved by the Cop 26 summit now "calls upon" parties to adopt policies "accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances".

The last-minute intervention by India and China was controversial as Cop president Alok Sharma had already told the summit that no changes to the language of the text were possible. But with the risk of the entire agreement collapsing over the issue, Sharma allowed India to put forward the change after the formal plenary to approve the text had begun.

The move was condemned in interventions by the EU, Switzerland, Mexico, Fiji, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives. But all parties agreed to approve it in order to ensure the entire package was passed. Sharma apologised to the summit for the way the interventions were allowed to take place.

By Eleanor Green