After more than two weeks of intense negotiations, nations at the UN Climate Conference in Madrid agreed to deals to enhance their targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But environmental organizations and activists were disappointed at the failure to outline concrete action that would be taken by governments before the next climate conference in Glasgow.

Read more: COP25: Who are the biggest climate winners and losers?

"The can-do spirit that birthed the Paris Agreement feels like a distant memory today," said Helen Mountford, vice president for climate and economics at the World Resources Institute. "Instead of leading the charge for greater ambition, most major emitters have been missing in action."

In what became the longest ever COP conference, extending from Friday — when it was due to finish — until Sunday afternoon, delegates clashed over financing being discussed for developing countries to help them adapt to climate impacts and a controversial article dealing with carbon markets within the Paris Agreement rulebook.

Main sticking points within the carbon market provisions included:

Fear of double counting — that both countries selling and buying carbon credits would count the carbon reductions as their own.

Countries, including Brazil, hoping to sell on old carbon credits associated with a former market under the Kyoto Protocol.

Carbon markets leading to a lack of ambition within nationally-determined climate targets.

Watch video 00:32 Greenpeace Director Jennifer Morgan: "This text is completely unacceptable"

Pressure from youth and civil society

Countries were unable to come to an agreement on the market mechanism, which will now be pushed into next year when nations will meet in Glasgow for COP26 to implement the Paris Agreement.

But delegates did manage to come to an agreement over ambition — one of the key elements of the Paris Agreement that will see nations adjust and increase their carbon reduction targets every five years.

Read more: COP25: Why are high emission countries lagging on climate protection?

Minister for the ecological transition of Spain, Teresa Ribera, said there was more positive than negative achieved at the conference, but that there were still elements missing. "There are big countries that don't want to accelerate climate action, and despite that, we've achieved that call and agreement to enhance climate action and do it formally led by science," she said.

Delegates were under more pressure than ever before at the COP conference as youth and civil society campaigners, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, took part in the two-week conference to demand action from leaders.

But activists used a pause in proceedings on Saturday to hold their own "People's Plenary," praising action being taken all over the world and the protests that have seen millions of people take to the streets in the past year.

However, they also criticized leaders involved in talks at the COP25, calling the conference a "failure" for both the people and the planet.

"We are here to express the power of the people to mandate climate justice," Catherine Abreu, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, told DW. "Governments of the world have come into these halls and failed to stand up for the demands that their people have made in the streets for action on climate change," she added.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Diving in with the rest Young activists in Berlin took a dip in the city's Spree River to demonstrate their desire for more action on climate change. Their protest took place as Germany's upper house of parliament passed a raft of measures aimed at cutting emissions. However, critics of the package said it did not go far enough.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Wanting a new start Thousands of protesters gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to voice dissatisfaction with a perceived lack of urgency on the part of the government. Some 50,000 people took part, demanding a "new start" for the government's climate policy.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Tide of opinion "The climate is changing, why aren't we?" ask these protesters Rome. The historic Italian city of Venice was recently flooded, with the local mayor blaming climate change for the highest tide in 50 years. Climate protests took place in 138 Italian towns and cities, according to Fridays for Future Italia, including in major urban centers like Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples and Palermo.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Message for the government Activists and schoolchildren in Sydney kicked off the latest round of global protests against climate change on Friday by picketing the headquarters of Australia's ruling party. The protesters — brandishing placards that read "You're burning our future" and chanting "we will rise" — turned out as Sydney was again enveloped in toxic smoke caused by bushfires.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Koalas under threat The protests have taken on extra urgency in Australia — the country's southeast has been devastated by hundreds of damaging bushfires in recent weeks. Wildfires and drought have left the koala bear on the verge of "functional" extinction.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Japan — a victim of extremes Hundreds of people marched through Tokyo's Shinjuku district to show their support for the Fridays For Future movement. Japan is no exception to abnormal weather patterns around the world in recent years. The island nation has been hit by increasingly frequent typhoons, and also by hotter weather. In October, Typhoon Hagibis ripped through central and north-eastern Japan, killing scores of people.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Forests For Future Demonstrations also took place in Indonesia, where – in an effort to to protect tropical forests - the government has issued a temporary ban on permits for palm plantations. However, critics say a lack of transparency has made it difficult to evaluate the moratorium's effectiveness. The global palm oil trade has been blamed as a major contributor to climate change by causing loss of vegetation.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Something in the air In Delhi — the world's most polluted capital — students staged a march to the environment ministry carrying placards and demanding that the government declare a climate emergency. The country is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases and has 14 of the 15 most polluted cities in the world, according to a UN study.

Climate change strikes worldwide — in pictures Targeting international talks The protests took place as negotiators from some 200 countries prepared to meet for the COP25 climate conference in Madrid. Participants are seeking clearer rules on how to meet the requirements of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change. The accord aims to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Author: Richard Connor



Disappointment and frustration

As the conference rolled on into Saturday evening, delegates from multiple developing countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and Belize, expressed their disappointment and frustration at the weakening of text referring to emission reduction targets, which they said would lead to a lack of ambition.

Read more: The role of the business sector in tackling the climate crisis

Climate envoy Tina Stege from the Marshall Islands, one of the nations already being impacted by rising sea levels as a result of the climate crisis, said that high emitting nations were backtracking on their promises.

"We should be calling for a quantum leap in the other direction," she said. "We are here and we'll fight and the world is watching us. I need to go home and look my children in the eye and say we came out with an outcome that's going to ensure their future and the future of all of our children."

Nations were also divided over the issues of "loss and damage," a fund that would compensate countries already facing the impacts of climate change.

Representatives from almost 200 nations took part in the talks in Madrid. They aimed to finish the so-called rulebook, a set of guidelines that will be used to implement the Paris Agreement from next year.