Issued on: 28/09/2021 -
Milan (AFP)
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg opened a youth climate summit on Tuesday by lambasting three decades of government inaction, accusing world leaders of having "drowned" future generations with "empty words and promises".
Speaking weeks ahead of a crunch UN climate summit in Glasgow, Thunberg accused governments of "shamelessly congratulating themselves" for insufficient pledges to cut emissions and promises of financing.
Hurling leaders' own words back at them, the 18-year-old laid bare to delegates at the Youth4Climate event in Milan the gap between words and action.
"There is no Planet B, there is no planet blah, blah, blah," Thunberg said to warm applause.
Echoing a speech by COP26 summit host Boris Johnson in April, she continued: "This is not about some expensive politically correct dream of bunny hugging, or build back better, blah blah blah, green economy, blah blah blah, net zero by 2050, blah blah blah, climate neutral blah blah blah.
"This is all we hear from our so-called leaders: words, words that sound great but so far have led to no action, our hopes and dreams drowned in their empty words and promises," said Thunberg.
The three-day event in Milan gathers some 400 youth activists from nearly 200 countries, who will submit a joint declaration to a ministerial meeting at the end of the week as a lead-in to COP26 in November in Glasgow.
"Our leaders' intentional lack of action is a betrayal of all present and future generations," said Thunberg.
She said governments had been "shamelessly congratulating themselves while still failing to come up with the long overdue funding" for developing nations.
COP26 is being billed as vital for the continued viability of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which saw countries commit to limit global temperature rises to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.
The landmark deal aims for a safer warming cap of 1.5C.
But six years after the accord was struck, countries still haven't agreed how it will work in practice.
Among long-overdue issues still outstanding for COP26 is how each country's carbon cuts will be counted, as well as how the fight against climate change is financed.
Nations already suffering from extreme floods, droughts and storms supercharged by rising seas have called on developed countries at COP26 to make good on a decade-old promise to provide $100 billion each year to help them recover and adapt.
Host Britain says it wants the Glasgow summit to keep the 1.5C temperature goal in play, specifically by seeking a global agreement to phase out coal power.
However the United Nations this month said that the latest round of country emissions reductions plans still puts Earth on course for a "catastrophic" 2.7C of warming.
© 2021 AFP
Youth call time on decades of 'empty' climate promises
Issued on: 28/09/2021 -
Milan (AFP)
Youth activists on Tuesday called out decades of "empty words and promises" from world leaders as they demanded action -- and money -- to tackle global warming ahead of a pivotal UN climate summit.
With just weeks to go before the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, seen as crucial to the viability of the Paris climate agreement, campaigners used the opening of a three-day event in Milan to lambast governments' failure to address the crisis.
Swedish wunderkind Greta Thunberg slammed governments for "shamelessly congratulating themselves" for insufficient pledges to cut emissions and promises of financing.
Hurling leaders' own words back at them, the 18-year-old laid bare to delegates at the Youth4Climate event the gap between words and action.
"There is no Planet B, there is no planet blah, blah, blah," Thunberg said to warm applause.
Echoing a speech by COP26 summit host Boris Johnson in April, she continued: "This is not about some expensive politically correct dream of bunny hugging, or build back better, blah blah blah, green economy, blah blah blah, net zero by 2050, blah blah blah, climate neutral blah blah blah.
"This is all we hear from our so-called leaders: words, words that sound great but so far have led to no action, our hopes and dreams drowned in their empty words and promises," said Thunberg.
Some 400 youth activists from nearly 200 countries gathered in Milan will submit a joint declaration to a ministerial meeting at the end of the week, as a lead-in to COP26 in November in Glasgow.
"Our leaders' intentional lack of action is a betrayal of all present and future generations," said Thunberg.
She said governments had been "shamelessly congratulating themselves while still failing to come up with the long overdue funding" for developing nations.
Ugandan youth activist Vanessa Nakate echoed Thunberg's exasperation at leaders' lack of urgency.
"How long must children sleep hungry because their farms have been washed away, because their crops have been dried up because of the extreme weather conditions?" she asked attendees.
"How long are we to watch them die of thirst and gasp for air in the floods? World leaders watch this happen and allow this to continue."
- 'Show us the money' -
COP26 is vital for the effective implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which saw countries commit to limit global temperature rises to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.
The landmark deal aims for a safer warming cap of 1.5C.
But six years after the accord was struck, countries still haven't agreed how it will work in practice.
Among long-overdue issues still outstanding for COP26 is how each country's carbon cuts will be counted, as well as how the fight against climate change is financed.
Nations already suffering from extreme floods, droughts and storms supercharged by rising seas have called on developed countries at COP26 to make good on a decade-old promise to provide $100 billion each year to help them recover and adapt.
COP26 President Alok Sharma told delegates on Tuesday that the summit was a chance for "developed countries to make good on their promise of money to support developing countries dealing with rising impact of climate change".
Host Britain says it wants the Glasgow summit to keep the 1.5C temperature goal viable, specifically by seeking a global agreement to phase out coal power.
However the United Nations this month said that the latest round of country emissions reductions plans still puts Earth on course for a "catastrophic" 2.7C of warming.
"It's time for our leaders to stop talking and start acting, it's time for the polluters to pay, it's time to keep promises," said Nakate.
"No more empty promises, no more empty summits, no more empty conferences. It's time to show us the money."
© 2021 AFP
The Tech Billionaires Taking On Climate Change
- Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos have all made commitments in 2021 to fund the fight against climate change
- Some of these tech billionaires are coming under fire for failing to invest in the most effective areas
- Meanwhile, the ‘space billionaires’ are being called out for the high-emissions nature of their favorite hobbies
In recent years we’ve seen several tech billionaires back environmentally friendly innovations in a bid to tackle climate change, but will these famous innovators really be the ones to bring about change? Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other leading entrepreneurs often make the headlines for their ground-breaking technologies, unexpected ventures, and charitable donations, frequently making investments as large as some countries’ GDPs. More recently, it seems these billionaires are eager to lead the fight against climate change and provide the technology and research necessary to make a difference.
This September, Gates announced that he had secured over $1 billion dollars in funding from seven U.S. firms to combat climate change. The funding from Microsoft, BlackRock, General Motors, American Airlines, Boston Consulting Group, Bank of America, and ArcelorMittal will be managed by his organization Breakthrough Energy, which he established in 2016.
Gates hopes to drive a “new industrial revolution” through the organization’s Breakthrough Energy Catalyst project, to help the world avoid a climate disaster through investment in carbon capture, green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuel. “Half the technology needed to get to zero emissions either doesn’t exist yet or is too expensive for much of the world to afford,” Gates stated, suggesting “Catalyst is designed to change that and provide an effective way to invest in our clean technology future.”
This has been the focus of 2021, with several other tech billionaires getting involved in the battle. Last year, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion to launch his Bezos Earth Fund, which will provide grants to scientists battling climate change. He encouraged other companies to donate to the fund stating that “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” and “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”
Related: Oil Prices Near $80 On Tight Global Supply
And on the same day Gates announced his new funding, Bezos revealed that his Earth Fund would be contributing $1 billion to conserve and protect vulnerable areas of the world. The announcement included statements of support from world leaders such as UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson; Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez; and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry.
At the beginning of 2021, Elon Musk joined the ranks of climate change leaders by offering $100 million to the person or organization that could create the most effective carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Elon Musk’s Tesla has led the EV market for years, but now it appears he is also interested in looking for innovative new ways to tackle climate change beyond his EVs.
These kinds of grand public gestures could provide the impetus that the world needs to act on climate change, following recent reports from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Organisation, which both suggest that an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives is imminently necessary and not happening fast enough to prevent a crisis.
But how meaningful are these efforts and will they receive the backing needed from governments and companies around the world to truly tackle climate change?
But can billionaires really beat climate change?
Several experts suggest that the recent efforts of some of the world’s richest men may be misplaced. For example, San Francisco-based non-profit Project Drawdown reminds us that twelve of the top 20 climate solutions relate to either agriculture or forests, and while Bezos, Gates, and Musk focus on new technologies, funds may be better placed in reforestation projects and agricultural change. Many leading climate change organizations agreed, suggesting that funds should be spread across both new technologies and nature-based solutions.
At the same time, it doesn’t help that these tech billionaires are spending far larger amounts on personal projects that seem to run counter to their climate goals. For example, Musk has recently come under fire for his space ambitions regarding his $74 billion Space X program. Meanwhile, Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic adventures received similar criticism, with Bezos’ trip to space being described as “a spectacle of grotesque wealth.”
When the launch of just one rocket produces as much as 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which can remain in the earth’s upper atmosphere for years, the hypocrisy of these apparent ‘climate saviors’ engaging in a space race is clear for all to see. Carbon emissions from rockets are currently substantially lower than those that come from the aviation industry, but making space travel commercial could soon change that.
While the efforts of these tech billionaires to make meaningful change in the battle against climate change are commendable, their pet projects appear to be undermining any climate strategies that they may be pursuing. As for how they choose to invest that funding, questions remain over whether these billions could be better spent elsewhere.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
No comments:
Post a Comment