GLOBAL FAILURE

COP25 Climate Talk Attendees Blame U.S. for Conference Failure

Members of the COP25 climate summit in Madrid ended talks Sunday blaming the U.S. for their failure to reach an agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or COP25 ended Sunday with resounding failure after the group failed to reach a productive agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Most of those in attendance blamed the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord as the reason other nations could not reach an agreement. Antonio Guterres, U.N. secretary general said he was disappointed with the results. “The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis,” he said in closing remarks. Alden Meyer, strategy chief at the Union of Concerned Scientists agreed. “Never have I seen such a disconnect between what the science requires and what the climate negotiations are delivering in terms of meaningful action,” he said. “Most of the world’s biggest emitting countries are missing in action and resisting calls to raise their ambition.” Others, like 14-year-old activist Alexandria Villasenor, blamed complacency on bureaucracy. “The difference between the youth on the streets and the negotiations is that the youth on the streets are acting with urgency,” she told AFP. “COP25 has failed us and it’s another year of failure.”