COP26 Climate Deals Unravel Under Closer Scrutiny

A day after U.K. COP26 organizers celebrated a major pledge to protect the world’s forests, one of the most important signatories said it didn’t actually sign up to end deforestation by the end of the decade.

Indonesia, the top producer of palm oil, said it only agreed to keep its forest cover steady over the period — meaning trees could still be cut down and replaced.

Brazil, another key member, said it would only target “illegal” deforestation.

Indonesia also signed up to a pledge aimed at ending coal use, but a closer look at the terms shows it will be able to continue building coal plants at home.

The U.K. highlighted Poland as one of the major signatories of that same deal, but Warsaw said it won’t phase out coal until the 2040s — the same timescale it was already planning — casting doubt on how much value the new accord adds.

As talks continued for the fifth day, divisions emerged over a big item on the agenda: rules for a global carbon market.

Developing countries want a percentage of the proceeds from all trading to be channeled to poor nations.

The EU is resisting calls to apply the fee to transactions between nations — and says it’s a red line.

Read more at Bloomberg