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COP26 climate agreement strikes some as ‘good deal,’ others as ‘blah, blah, blah’

The compromise reached at the UN climate summit officially points a finger at coal but stops short of a “phase out.”

Nearly 200 countries reached an agreement at the United Nations climate summit Saturday that UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres said takes important steps but still leaves us “knocking on the door of climate catastrophe.”

“The approved texts are a compromise,” Guterres said in a statement. “They reflect the interests, the conditions, the contradictions and the state of political will in the world today. They take important steps, but unfortunately the collective political will was not enough to overcome some deep contradictions.”

The agreement is the first to come out of a UN climate summit with mention of the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, CNN reported. But at the last minute, language to “phase out” coal power was changed to “phase down,” a move some said would make it hard to reach key goals around warming.

The agreement asks governments to strengthen emissions-reduction targets by the end of 2022 to keep alive the goal of the Paris climate accords signed six years ago. That treaty calls for holding the rise in the Earth’s average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels — and if possible, to 1.5 degrees Celsius above those levels. But the COP26 agreement has no enforcement mechanism, The Wall Street Journal reported, and only urges countries to act. Still, it calls on governments to return next year with their more robust plans to curb emissions, with some negotiators seeing that review as a way to bring about new cuts, the Journal said.

Altered language aside, the agreement includes an explicit call to countries to accelerate their efforts to cut down on coal, the fossil fuel that’s worst when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, and to speed an end to fossil fuel subsidies. And it promises more money to small and developing countries for mitigation and adaptation.

“It’s a good deal for the world,” US climate envoy John Kerry told The Associated Press. “It’s got a few problems, but it’s all in all a very good deal.”

Others weren’t so sure. In regard to funds for smaller countries, developed nations have already missed the deadline for providing $100 billion annually to these countries by 2020. That means trust is low, and many of these countries are disappointed the agreement doesn’t lay the groundwork for establishing a loss and damage fund. This would’ve provided them with the money they need to pay for immediate damage caused by the climate crisis, which is largely caused by developing countries.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg dismissed the agreement as more of the same old talk without real action.

“The #COP26 is over. Here’s a brief summary: Blah, blah, blah,” Thunberg tweeted. “Unless we achieve immediate, drastic, unprecedented, annual emission cuts at the source then that means we’re failing when it comes to this climate crisis,” she said in another tweet, adding that “small steps in the right direction” and “making some progress” equals losing.

CNET’s Katie Collins contributed to this report.

Technologies

Anthropic warns investors of AI’s ‘existential risk to humanity’ in IPO prospectus, reports say

Anthropic’s IPO filing dedicates 80 pages to the risks of AI, nearly double the 48 pages it spends discussing its business plans, according to Reuters.

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U.S. and Iran hold separate mediated talks as Middle East oil exports hit wartime peak

U.S. and Iranian officials have engaged in separate mediated talks aimed at ending the seven‑month war, while Middle East oil exports have surged to near‑record levels despite the conflict.

Iranian and American officials reportedly held separate meetings with mediators on Monday, urging a ceasefire.

Middle Eastern crude exports climbed this month to their highest point since the war started in February.

According to Kpler, a total U.S. export ban on diesel would keep about 1.2 million barrels per day domestically and could overwhelm Gulf Coast storage capacity.

The ruins of the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school, destroyed in Minab, Hormozgan province, are shown in an image taken on August 10 2026, surrounded by rubble. Six months later, AFP journalists gained rare access to the site, which remains largely in ruins, with collapsed walls and twisted steel framed by portraits of the children who were killed and Iranian flags waving above the debris. Iran asserts that the attack involved two separate U.S. Tomahawk missiles, though neither the United States nor Israel has officially claimed responsibility. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) / Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images

U.S. and Iranian officials have reportedly engaged in separate indirect talks with mediators on Monday, reviving efforts to end the seven‑month war. Tehran is pushing for a response to a revised ceasefire framework while Middle East crude exports reach their highest level since the conflict started.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York, where he stayed after the United Nations General Assembly, and said he expects a reply from Washington by Tuesday. “We discussed ideas and how to find solutions to meet Iran’s conditions,” Araghchi said, adding that he plans to return to Tehran once a response arrives. “Whenever the Qataris have an answer, they know how to get it to us.”

Iran’s proposal, first presented on the sidelines of last week’s General Assembly, calls for the United States to release frozen Iranian funds within four to five days, lift sanctions on Iranian oil, and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports, with nuclear talks slated to begin within seven days. Tehran has linked any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to the fulfillment of these steps.

President Donald Trump called the plan “unacceptable” on Sunday and rejected it, telling reporters that Iran seeks a rapid agreement because of the economic pressure it faces. At the White House on Monday, Trump said U.S. officials had spoken separately with mediators but offered no further details, adding, “We’re going to win. It’s going to go pretty quickly.”

The diplomatic push comes as physical supply data indicates the war’s impact on the oil market is easing. Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to roughly their highest level since the conflict began in February, according to Kpler. The tracking firm noted that Middle East crude exports are at just under 80 % of pre‑conflict levels.

The Strait of Hormuz itself remains far from normal. Kpler’s real‑time tracking showed total traffic through the strait at 10,591 kilobarrels per day on Saturday, compared with a pre‑war baseline of 17,133.

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Technologies

Oil prices fall as crude exports recover at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports

Saudi Arabia has restored flows through the pipeline to around 3.5 million barrels per day, according to media reports.

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