What COP25 left

The world has turned to the need to combat climate change in recent years. In 2019, the civic presence has been constantly asking governments to act on the concerns regarding the environment. This is why COP25 in Madrid arrived with a high degree of concern, as the nations are forced to demonstrate what they are doing to reverse greenhouse gases.

These are some of the highlights that leaves us COP25, which took place from December 2 to 13 in Spain and brought together 196 countries.

The world is in a decisive phase

The main objective of this summit was to ensure the implementation of the commitments of the Paris Agreement, of which 195 countries are part (one less than those that started at COP21, as the United States left).

Among these issues, the most critical in terms of poor implementation is the regulation of carbon markets. On the one hand, large companies that use fossil fuels continue to do their jobs indiscriminately. On the other hand, the exit of the United States from the Agreement implies the revision of the global goals, since this country is the second largest polluter in carbon issues, after China.

Also read: COP25 started and countries will have to move up a gear

According to the Cooperativa de Chile, Greenpeace's executive director, Jennifer Morgan, said she was concerned about the agreements: "the text does not make it clear that countries will increase their efforts to reduce emissions and combat climate change." Given this, not only Greenpeace but dozens of groups and citizens tried to pressure the participants of COP25 for greater effectiveness and commitment.

Greta Thunberg and the face of the young

The appointment to Greta Thunberg as Person of the Year by TIME magazine came just during COP25 and it is a sign of the relevance of the preservation of the environment in the year that is about to end.

Thunberg, who has been all year round on the front pages of all the media worldwide and at the mouth of public opinion, is the representative face of millions of young people who, from young ages, begin to demand a turn of the Nations towards the sustainability. Hundreds of young Spaniards gathered on the outskirts of the location in the form of a protest to show that youth is aware of their actions and wants quick responses to the world's environmental problems.

The 13-year-old Swedish girl was part of some conferences within the framework of the convention and said that she is just one more activist, "I am a small part of a great movement." The activist has been blunt in her criticism of governments, because she says that political leaders do not behave as if there is an environmental emergency, but has also stressed the importance of each person's actions in the global environmental footprint. Therefore, Thunberg said: "I hope with all my heart that COP25 reaches something concrete and that this produces more awareness in the population and that political leaders realize the climatic urgency."

Also read: Why was Greta Thunberg selected as Time's Person of the Year?

In her days at the convention, she also assured that in 3 weeks, which begins a new year and a new decade, it is time for everyone to start worrying about the future.

Latin American Commitments

The presence of Latin America at COP25 played a fundamental role as this is a region highly vulnerable to the challenges of climate change.

On the one hand, the commitment of the region lies in the fact that in this convention they had an important role since it was originally going to be carried out in Chile, although due to the social crisis it had to be done in Spain.

In addition, the COP25 president said that “this summit is from Latin America and the Caribbean, since they are one of the territories most threatened by climate change”, according to El Milenio. Within the framework, COP25 focused on the concern about fires throughout the year in the Amazon, considered the lung of the world. This, although worldwide, represents a need for commitment from the countries in which this rainforest is located.

In the middle of the convention, criticisms were raised because of the controversial plans by Ecuador and Peru to extract oil in the area considered to be the most biodiverse in the world: the Sacred Basins of the Amazon . Environmental groups outside governments, announced during some COP25 conferences, that both countries intended to expand the exploitation of this area. However, according to the BBC, "Peru denies it and Ecuador has not officially announced any new tender in the Sacred Basins region."

Similarly, the Chilean Energy Minister, Juan Carlos Jobet, announced at a conference that the government will close four coal plants in the country. “In the activity, the Minister emphasized that in total there will be four units which will be disconnected from the system: Mejillones 1 and 2 Thermoelectric Power Plant, which belongs to Engie, as well as Windows 1 and 2, which is currently commanded by AES Gener”, said the Fayer Wayer portal.

Finally, at the closing ceremony, the union between Chile and the United Kingdom was announced for the next COP26. In the 2020 edition, countries will show their progress and may modify the commitments of each of the Paris Agreement.