Behind closed doors these meetings can get very testy and that is kind of how it manifests. In the initial drafts of this agreement like any mention of fossil fuels at all was scrubbed out by some of these oil producing countries. And they finally allowed that language in provided it was only bracketed as things like unabated fossil fuels with the caveat that basically assuming that you know burning fossil fuels completely recklessly which sort of implies there is a responsible way to be able to burn fossil fuels into the future.
In a UN-brokered agreement, more than 190 countries agreed to pay for “loss and damage” caused by climate change. But determining who owes what — and for what and to whom — will be a real challenge.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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