07.10.2022
UN urged to make combating climate change a top and global priority
Photo by: temizyurek / iStock
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the fight against climate change to be a top and global priority. He said this ahead of the UN climate summit COP27 to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November 2022.
The UN chief pointed to the catastrophic natural disasters that have occurred since early 2022 due to the climate crisis.
“A third of Pakistan is flooded. Europe’s hottest summer in 500 years. The Philippines under attack. All of Cuba is in darkness. And here in the United States, Hurricane Ian was a cruel reminder that no country and no economy is immune to climate crisis,” stressed António Guterres.
In his view, the climate crisis is worsening, while efforts to combat it have stalled. The UN secretary-general added that the current climate pledges will not be able to keep global warming to 2 °C, let alone a more serious limit of 1.5 °C.
The COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh will be a “litmus test” of the readiness of the world’s governments to confront growing climate damage.
António Guterres recalled the commitments of developed countries to provide $100 billion to support action on climate change in developing countries.
Furthermore, funding for climate adaptation should account for half of all international funding. This should also go towards developing renewable energy sources and building resilience.
Meanwhile, in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN Under-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned environment ministers that the window of opportunity to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis was closing.
She stressed that greater support for developing countries to adapt to the effects of climate change should be a global priority.
Amina Mohammed recalled that at last year’s COP26 conference in Glasgow, developed countries pledged to double their support for climate change adaptation action to $40 billion by 2024.
The UN deputy head called for a clear roadmap on how this funding will be implemented from 2022 onwards.
Cover photo: Naeblys / iStock
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