“Implementing a robust, environmentally sound carbon market that addresses each other’s needs, with an adaptation fund that we so badly need” would have been very important, said Carolina Schmidt, COP25 president.

Poor countries have been accusing a handful of richer nations of holding up progress on tackling the climate crisis at UN talks in Madrid. Brazil, India and China singled out to any block agreement on article 6 which regulates the new carbon market drafted in the Paris agreement. The document was approved by the COP25 President after a tense debate with Brazil, which initially did not accept two paragraphs included in the agreement on oceans and land use.

The final agreement on climate ambition for 2020 with compliance with the Paris Agreement imposed limits for countries to prevent the rise in global average temperature of above 1.5 degrees in this century stating that more ambitious commitments will have to be made to reduce emissions by 2020 to address the climate emergency.

According to the agreement, scientific knowledge will be “the main axis” that should guide countries’ climate decisions to increase their ambition, which must be constantly updated as science advances.

The agreement also recognizes the importance of climate action by non-governmental actors, inviting them to increase and disseminate strategies that are climate friendly.