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U.N. climate chief: COP26 put nations on notice to act fast

(Reuters, 8 Dec 2021) The U.N. climate chief says deals and decisions made last month at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow have given countries many tasks ahead of the next summit in Egypt in November 2022.

The world must get to work on quickly reducing emissions to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius – a goal that remains within reach under the Glasgow Climate Pact, the U.N.'s climate agency chief said.

In her first interview since the Glasgow climate summit ended on Nov. 13, U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa told Reuters that deals and decisions made last month in Glasgow gave countries many tasks ahead of the next U.N. climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022.

"We have so much work to do," she told Reuters on Tuesday in Washington. "We really have a very short time to produce results."

The Glasgow Climate Pact, backed by nearly 200 countries, for the first time targeted fossil fuels -- the biggest driver of manmade global warming. It asks governments to accelerate emissions cuts, and promises more money for poor countries struggling to adapt to a warmer world.

The two-week conference that yielded the pact also ushered in pledges from countries, companies and investors to clean up emissions from cars and planes, curb the powerful greenhouse gas methane, protect forests and bolster green finance – all voluntary commitments that will require tracking and scrutiny.

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Reuters, 8 Dec 2021: U.N. climate chief: COP26 put nations on notice to act fast