FirstFT: COP26 agrees new climate rules but weakens coal pledge

The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow succeeded in getting 197 countries to agree new rules on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, but last-minute objections from India and China stymied a commitment to end coal use and fossil fuel subsidies.

While global executives broadly welcomed the deal, many said it did not go far enough. Some complained that companies were showing greater urgency than many governments when it came to global warming.

Conference president Alok Sharma fought back tears in the final minutes as he apologised to other ministers for watering down a clause on fossil fuels. However, the summit marked the first time that coal or fossil fuels had been directly referenced in a COP agreement.

Countries also agreed on rules that will govern the 2015 Paris climate accord, which aims to limit global temperature rise to well below 2C since pre-industrial times, and ideally to 1.5C, and to increase funding to help countries to adapt to climate change.

Temperatures have already risen 1.1C in that period, and many nations have suffered the consequences.

What do you think of the final deal agreed at COP26? Let us know at firstft@ft.com. Thanks for reading FirstFT Europe/Africa. — Jennifer

Five more stories in the news

1. Britain’s £1tn post-Brexit export strategy Ministers will this week announce a £1tn a year overseas sales target by 2030 as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to overhaul UK export strategy. Previous Conservative governments failed to achieve the same figure by 2020.

2. Ukraine warns of Russian military escalation Western intelligence suggests a “high probability of destabilisation” of Ukraine by Russia as soon as this winter after Moscow massed more than 90,000 troops at its border, according to Kyiv’s deputy defence minister.

3. EU plans to widen sanctions against Belarus The EU will tighten sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko’s regime by targeting those closest to the Belarus leader, the union’s top diplomat has said, as ministers prepare to step up their response to what Brussels terms a “hybrid attack” at its eastern border.

4. Portuguese law bans employers from contacting staff out of hours Companies will be forbidden from contacting employees outside working hours and must meet their extra energy and communications costs under one of Europe’s most employee-friendly laws for regulating homeworking.

5. More problems at NSO after blacklisting NSO Group’s lenders are preparing for a restructuring of the Israeli spyware firm’s debt after the US commerce department placed the company on a trade blacklist for selling military-grade spyware to governments that used the tools to carry out “transnational repression” of journalists, activists and embassy workers.

Coronavirus digest

• Restrictions on movement are expected to have a milder impact on growth in the EU than during previous waves because they target the unvaccinated, who are a small section of the population, according to economists.

• Austria confirmed plans to impose strict curbs on the unvaccinated, effective today, while the Netherlands is imposing another nationwide lockdown.

• Oral antivirals are expected to reduce the burden of a potential influx of Covid-19 patients this winter.

• North Korea appears to be preparing to partially reopen its land border with China after almost two years of coronavirus-driven isolation.

• The FT View: Border closures and lockdowns simply postpone the moment when Covid-19 will become endemic in a population while limiting freedom.

• More than 1,000 FT readers — from London to Qatar — shared their concerns and hopes about returning to the office. Read what they had to say.

The day ahead

UK PM speaks at City Banquet Boris Johnson will deliver the annual speech at Mansion House today, addressing the newly installed Lord Mayor of London. One question on executives’ minds: does the future of the financial services industry lie in embracing the green movement or reforming City regulations, such as listing rules?

Xi-Biden virtual meeting US president Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold discussions in an intensified effort to smooth relations amid concerns about Beijing’s military activity near Taiwan and its growing nuclear arsenal.

BoE governor grilling Andrew Bailey and other members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will give evidence to parliament’s Treasury committee. MPs will want to know why the MPC did not vote to raise the base rate to tackle growing UK inflation when the governor had previously suggested that a move was imminent.

Economic data IHS Markit purchasing managers’ surveys of Germany, France, Europe, the UK, the US and China will provide a better picture of the relative recovery of large economies. Eurostat is also due to release monthly trade in goods figures for the EU.

What else we’re reading

China’s nuclear build-up Over the last two decades, the country has stunned the US with the relentless pace of its conventional military build-up, from fighter jets and bombers to submarines and warships. As Beijing prepares to quadruple its warhead arsenal by 2030, could its growing nuclear posture alter the balance of power in Asia?

Life after Tunisia’s coup It was once hailed as a democratic success story among Arab countries, but Tunisia could return to dictatorship, critics warn. Its president, Kais Saied, remains popular but his divisive rhetoric risks creating an atmosphere of intimidation.

Oldest asset class still dominates modern wealth A study found that two-thirds of net worth is stored in residential, corporate and government real estate, as well as in land. For all the talk of digitalisation, it seems that bricks and mortar are the new bricks and mortar, writes Rana Foroohar.

Can bonuses reduce emissions? Senior management pay is increasingly linked to sustainability targets, but critics are sceptical that this will amount to meaningful change. It has raised questions about the purpose and effectiveness of monetary rewards in changing corporate behaviour.

‘Daddy isn’t coming back’: surviving my partner’s suicide “Horror and grief, guilt, despair, anger, regret. There are days when I feel them all simultaneously. But also shame. We talk far more openly than we used to about mental health, but we don’t talk as freely or sympathetically about severe mental illness,” writes Manuela Saragosa.

Podcast

This weekend on the FT Weekend podcast, Lilah Raptopoulos explores what it means to defy death with rock climber Leo Houlding. We also explore radical life extension with science writer Anjana Ahuja.