Climate commitments made in COP26 It will be too limited and arrive too late to protect the communities Exhibition Already suffering from the effects Climate emergencyAccording to delegates and observers from around the world.
Although some progress was made at the Glasgow summit on ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advocates argue that support was lost in the final hours of negotiations Financial issues Critical for developing and vulnerable countries.
With decisions on the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol delivered on Saturday, Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said: “The 1.5°C target leaves Glasgow shattered and muffled, but alive.”
“Loss and damages are now on the political agenda as never before and the only way out is for them to be finally met.”
Muhammed Addo, Director of Research Center Power Shift Africa, participates in Nairobi
Small island states and developing countries have They fought hard for two weeks to secure commitments to phase out the use of fossil fuels, as well as to fund losses and damages – the irreparable damage caused by climate change – and adaptation and mitigation.
Although the draft resolutions promised to achieve these goals, delegates agreed “in a spirit of compromise” to the decision to phase down – rather than cancel – achieve energy from coal. There has also been a rollback of a clear plan for financing damages and losses.
broken trust
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the summit had failed to achieve key goals of setting a price for carbon, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and fulfilling a promise of $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries.
However, he said there are “elements for moving forward” in the final texts, which “reaffirm the determination” to limit global warming to 1.5°C, boost climate finance for adaptation and recognize the need to strengthen support for loss and damage for the vulnerable. Countries.
“Protecting countries from climate catastrophe is not charity. It is solidarity and self-interest,” Guterres said.
Today we have another climate crisis. An atmosphere of mistrust is engulfing our planet. Climate action can help rebuild trust and restore credibility.”
Small island states have repeatedly called for support for communities already suffering from sea level rise, loss and damage.
Salim Ul-Haq, Director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, said 138 developing countries, representing 5 billion people, had submitted a proposal to establish a Loss and Damage Service in Glasgow.
He said that vulnerable and developing countries were “extremely disappointed” by the fact that reference to this mechanism had been removed from the final text, and stated that the UK, as COP President, had been “intimidated” into coming to terms with flexibility.
Mohamed Addo, director of Dil Thought Center Power Shift Africa, based in Nairobi, said it was disappointing that climate-weakened countries had not received any rewards for their hard work. “But losses and damages are now on the political agenda like never before and the only way out is that they are finally met,” he added.
“We are left empty-handed, but we are morally stronger and hopefully we can maintain the momentum in the coming year to provide meaningful support that enables [países] vulnerable to facing the irreversible effects of climate change caused by a polluted world that is not responsible,” said Adow.
COP President Alok Sharma shared this frustration with the changes in language regarding decarbonization, and appeared to cry as he apologized for the way the process had developed.
Many have pointed to India as responsible for softening the language around fossil fuels. But Brandon Wu, policy and campaigns director for the US nonprofit ActionAid, said blaming India ignores equity issues.
“The problem is not India. The problem is that the United States and rich countries refuse to put the removal of fossil fuels in the context of global justice,” Wu said.
For him, a just elimination of fossil fuels would place “most of the burden on the United States and the rich nations.”
Maldives Environment Minister Shona Aminat said COP 26 was another conversation that left their homes on the line, while those with options decided how quickly they wanted to act.
“We have heard that the technology is available. We know that billions are being spent on fossil fuels,” Aminath said.
“So we know it’s not about a lack of any of them. [ni tecnología ni recursos]. We have 98 months to cut global emissions in half. The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius is a death sentence for us.”
This article was prepared by SciDev.Net . Network worldwide.
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