COP26 ended in Glasgow, Scotland last week with a final deal. It established a framework for reporting emissions and trading carbon credits, called on countries to step up their targets next year, and included a mention of fossil fuels for the first time.

That mention of a “phase out” of fossil fuels almost killed the deal altogether.

In the final moments of the conference, India lobbied to weaken the phrase. Behind the scenes, China and the US supported the change. That created a showdown over the final language that could have prevented passage of the final agreement.

This week: what the conflict says about how power is wielded in global climate talks.

Guest: Akshat Rathi, a London-based reporter for Bloomberg News. He has a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford, and a BTech in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai.

The Carbon Copy is a co-production of Post Script Media and Canary Media.

The Carbon Copy is brought to you by Oracle. Oracle unlocks the energy of everyone. With the most comprehensive technology solutions and a deep understanding of human behavior, Oracle is putting people at the center of the energy transition. Learn more about Oracle’s vision of making the distributed, people-centered grid a reality: go.oracle.com/energyofeveryone.