US climate envoy John Kerry said in Glasgow on Friday that the texts in the final agreement of the climate summit should not be further watered down.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that the final texts in the making at the UN summit had been watered down on a number of points compared to the previous version. For example, changes have been made to passages about short-term CO2 reductions, phasing out the use of coal and subsidizing fossil fuels.
Regarding the passages dealing with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Kerry said he believes “very deeply” that the text should be preserved. “He can’t get any weaker. It can’t go backwards from here.”
Kerry went on to say that spending a lot of money on subsidizing fossil fuels is “the definition of insanity.” He said trillions of dollars had been spent on such grants in the past five or six years. “Those subsidies must disappear,” said the climate envoy. Kerry spoke at a meeting at the summit where countries can voice what they think of the texts so far.