Humanity must “cooperate or perish” in the face of the accelerating impacts of climate change, UN chief Antonio Guterres told world leaders during talks in Egypt tasked with curbing global warming.
Amid a wave of international crises that have rocked economies and international relations, Guterres said humanity faces a difficult choice.
“Cooperate or perish,” he said. “It is either a climate solidarity pact, or a collective suicide pact,” reported RTE.
Nearly 100 heads of state and government will speak at the Cop27 summit today and tomorrow, but Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the conference and US President Joe Biden will not come to attend later.
The summit comes as nations around the world grapple with intensifying natural disasters that have claimed thousands of lives this year alone and cost billions of dollars.
Guterres said that many of the current conflicts have been linked to growing climate chaos, indicating that the war in Ukraine has exposed the “profound risks of our fossil fuel addiction”, reported RTE.
“Today’s crises cannot be an excuse for backsliding or greenwashing. If anything, they are a reason for greater urgency, stronger action and effective accountability,” he said, reports RTE.
He called on G20 countries to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions this decade, telling developed countries to take the lead, but emerging economies have also been instrumental in bending the emissions curve.
Guterres called for a pact between developed and developing countries, in which all nations go the extra mile to cut emissions, richer countries provide financial assistance to help emerging economies accelerate their transition to renewable energy, and end dependence on fossil fuels.
The United States and China have a special responsibility to join hands to make the pact a reality, he said.
According to RTE, Guterres said: “Humanity has a choice: co-operate or perish. It is either a climate solidarity pact – or a collective suicide pact.”
He also called for a roadmap to double support to help poorer countries adapt to climate change.
“At the same time, we must acknowledge a harsh truth: there is no adapting to a growing number of catastrophic events causing enormous suffering around the world. The deadly impacts of climate change are here and now. Loss and damage can no longer be swept under the rug. It is a moral imperative. Those who contributed least to the climate crisis are reaping the whirlwind sown by others. Many are blindsided by impacts for which they had no warning or means of preparation,” he added, reported RTE.
He called for coverage of the universal early warning system within five years, for governments to tax windfall profits from fossil fuel companies, and for concrete results at COP27 to address the loss and damage suffered by the poorest countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, has urged the United States, China and other wealthy non-European nations ahead of the COP27 talks to pay their fair share to help poorer countries tackle climate change.
“We need the United States and China to step up” emissions cuts and financial aid, Macron told French and African climate activists on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
“Europeans are paying,” he said. “We are the only ones paying. Pressure must be put on rich non-European countries, telling them, ‘you have to pay your fair share’,” Mr Macron said, reported RTE.
Increasing financial aid to the poorest countries facing the brunt of climate-induced disasters emerged as a major theme at the 13-day climate conference that began yesterday.
Developing country leaders won a small victory when delegates decided to put the controversial issue of money for “loss and damage” on the agenda.
At the opening ceremony, COP27 officials urged governments to continue efforts to combat climate change despite economic crises linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the energy crisis, rising inflation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“The fear is other priorities take precedence,” top United Nations climate change official Simon Stiell told a news conference, reports RTE.
The “fear is that we lose another day, another week, another month, another year – because we can’t”, he said, RTE reported.
The world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C from late 19th century levels.
But current trends would see carbon pollution increase by 10% by the end of the decade and the earth’s surface warm 2.8°C, according to results revealed in recent days.
Only 29 of 194 countries have submitted enhanced climate plans, as requested at the UN talks in Glasgow last year, Stiell noted.
Fresh off his own electoral victory, Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to attend the summit, with high hopes he will protect the Amazon from deforestation after defeating climate-skeptical President Jair Bolsonaro.
Another new leader, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has reversed the decision not to participate in the talks and is expected to urge countries to move “further and faster” in the transition from fossil fuels.
Pakistan, which chairs the powerful G77+China negotiating bloc of more than 130 developing countries, has made the “loss and damage” issue a priority.
“We definitely regard this as a success for the parties,” said Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry, who chairs the COP27, reported RTE.
The United States and the European Union have stalled on the issue for years, fearing it would create an indefinite compensation framework.
But European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans welcomed the inclusion of loss and damage, saying on social media that “climate crisis has impacts beyond what vulnerable countries can shoulder alone”, reported RTE.
Rich nations are also expected to set a timetable for delivering $100 billion annually to help developing countries green their economies and build resilience against future climate change.
The commitment has already expired two years ago and remains below 17,000 million dollars, according to the OECD.
COP27 will continue until November 18 with ministerial meetings.
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