The EU’s local weather chief informed CNBC that he “would not be too crucial of China” in relation to assessing negotiations on the COP26 local weather change summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

The deal agreed at COP26 sought to construct on 2015’s Paris Settlement and forestall the worst results of local weather change, though it confronted obstacles associated to the phasing out of coal, fossil gasoline subsidies and monetary help to low-income international locations.

India and China, each among the many world’s largest burners of coal, insisted on a last-minute change of fossil gasoline language within the pact — from a “section out” of coal to a “section down.” After preliminary objections, opposing international locations in the end conceded.

In an interview with Silvia Amaro on the European Enterprise Summit in Brussels, Frans Timmermans — who’s the European Fee’s government vice chairman for the European Inexperienced Deal and was current throughout negotiations in Glasgow — was requested if he felt China had failed to satisfy the expectations he had for COP26.

“No,” he replied. “To begin with, they entered into … a joint declaration with the United States. Now, these two international locations have many points the place they differ — and typically differ very strongly — however by becoming a member of in a single declaration they declared that this challenge transcends different political points.”

“So China stated … we wish to be on observe for the 1.5, we wish to scale back our methane emissions … we wish to scale back our CO2 emissions.”

Timmermans’ reference to 1.5 pertains to the Paris Settlement’s intention of limiting “world warming to properly beneath 2, ideally to 1.5 levels Celsius, in comparison with pre-industrial ranges.”

He argued China declaring it needed to “section down” coal was vital provided that it was, in his phrases, “nonetheless so depending on coal.”

“That’s fairly one thing, so I would not belittle that,” he stated. “In fact, the picture is as a result of China and India insisted a lot on altering the formulation from phasing out to phasing down that they influenced in a unfavorable manner.”

“I might have most well-liked phasing out, however to section down is already a lot stronger than something that has ever been stated in a world context. So no, I would not be too crucial of China. I imply, I might have favored to have seen extra however they did … contribute.”

Whereas a number of the pledges and bulletins made throughout COP26 have drawn reward, different voices have been crucial of the summit and its outcomes.

“The street to 1.5 simply bought tougher when these talks ought to have cleared the way in which to creating it a complete lot simpler,” Rachel Kennerley, a local weather campaigner at Buddies of the Earth, stated in an announcement reacting to the settlement.

“The UK authorities cunningly curated bulletins all through this fortnight in order that it appeared fast progress was being made,” Kennerly stated.

“Right here we’re although, and the Glasgow get-out clause implies that leaders didn’t section out fossil fuels and the richest international locations will not pay historic local weather debt.”

Elsewhere, the local weather activist Greta Thunberg dismissed COP26 by summarizing it as “Blah, blah, blah.” It was put to Timmermans that for a lot of younger folks, COP26 had been a failure.

“I do not agree,” he stated. “It isn’t the large success we had hoped for, however it’s actually not a failure … as an alternative of 30% it is now 90% of the world’s economic system that has set a goal for internet zero. That’s development.”

“And naturally we have to go sooner, however we’re rushing up and I feel we will even go sooner subsequent 12 months.”

The COP27 summit can be hosted by Egypt in November 2022. In response to the U.N., the Glasgow Local weather Pact calls on international locations to “report their progress in direction of extra local weather ambition” at COP27.

—CNBC’s Matt Clinch contributed to this report