France regrets COP27's 'lack of ambition' despite progress
France on Sunday said it regretted the "lack of ambition" in the agreement reached at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt despite progress on providing funding for vulnerable countries.
A fraught UN climate summit wrapped up Sunday with a landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating impacts of global warming -- but also anger over a failure to push further ambition on cutting emissions.
The two-week talks in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which at times appeared to teeter on the brink of collapse, delivered a major breakthrough on a fund for climate "loss and damage."
But jubilation over that achievement was countered by stern warnings.
"No progress" was made on making additional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and abandoning fossil fuels, France energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said in a statement.
Paris regretted a "real disappointment" but welcomed the "loss and damage" fund for nations vulnerable to climate change.
"The COP27 agreement may not meet the ambitions of France and the European Union," the statement said, "but it preserves the most vital thing: it underlines the aim of limiting global warming to 1.5C and urges countries to make extra efforts from 2023.
"Reaffirming this aim was vital in a global context of climate and energy crises."
The EU had threatened to walk away from the talks if it did not get better commitments on emissions, but did not block the final agreement.
Nearly 200 countries' representatives gathered at the COP27 in Egypt for two weeks with the aim of driving forward action to fight climate change as the world faces a worsening onslaught of weather extremes.
READ ALSO: Floods, shellfish and wine: 7 ways that the climate crisis is impacting France ✎
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A fraught UN climate summit wrapped up Sunday with a landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating impacts of global warming -- but also anger over a failure to push further ambition on cutting emissions.
The two-week talks in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which at times appeared to teeter on the brink of collapse, delivered a major breakthrough on a fund for climate "loss and damage."
But jubilation over that achievement was countered by stern warnings.
"No progress" was made on making additional efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and abandoning fossil fuels, France energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said in a statement.
Paris regretted a "real disappointment" but welcomed the "loss and damage" fund for nations vulnerable to climate change.
"The COP27 agreement may not meet the ambitions of France and the European Union," the statement said, "but it preserves the most vital thing: it underlines the aim of limiting global warming to 1.5C and urges countries to make extra efforts from 2023.
"Reaffirming this aim was vital in a global context of climate and energy crises."
The EU had threatened to walk away from the talks if it did not get better commitments on emissions, but did not block the final agreement.
Nearly 200 countries' representatives gathered at the COP27 in Egypt for two weeks with the aim of driving forward action to fight climate change as the world faces a worsening onslaught of weather extremes.
READ ALSO: Floods, shellfish and wine: 7 ways that the climate crisis is impacting France ✎
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