Saturday, November 05, 2022

World is ‘doomed’ without historic climate deal, UN chief warns ahead of Cop27

Wealthy nations have long promised to find 100 billion dollars a year in climate finance for poor nations, with the target originally meant to have been hit in 2020.




United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the start of the Transforming Education defended his use of dramatic language, saying the world is approaching “tipping points” that will “make [climate breakdown] irreversible”.

SAT, 05 NOV, 2022 - 
MEG HILL AND TONY JONES, PA

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has said the world is “doomed” unless a “historic pact” is signed between rich and poor countries, speaking on the eve of Cop27.

The gathering of world leaders, business figures and environmentalists is being hosted at Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, following last year’s summit in Glasgow.

Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Guterres said the result of present policies and dynamics between the developed and developing world, if unchanged, would be “absolutely catastrophic”.

“There is no way we can avoid a catastrophic situation, if the two [the developed and developing world] are not able to establish a historic pact,” he said.

People pass a booth at the convention center hosting the COP27 UN Climate Summit, Saturday, Picture: AP Photo/Peter Dejong

Wealthy nations have long promised to find 100 billion dollars a year in climate finance for poor nations, with the target originally meant to have been hit in 2020.

It was first promised in 2009, but has never been accomplished. A report last year suggested it would not come to fruition until 2023.

Mr Guterres also defended his use of dramatic language, saying the world is approaching “tipping points” that will “make [climate breakdown] irreversible”.

“And as we are approaching those tipping points, we need to increase the urgency, we need to increase the ambition, and we need to rebuild trust, mainly trust between north and south,” he said.

Because at the present level, we will be doomed. Present policies will be absolutely catastrophic.

“And the truth is that we will not be able to change this situation if a pact is not put in place between developed countries and the emerging economies.”

Speaking ahead of the international summit, US envoy John Kerry has said the greatest responsibility lay with those countries which have been the biggest users of fossil fuels.

“Obviously those countries with greater means across the board – and that includes some developing countries that have greater means – need to also step up and help in this transition,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“We don’t view it – and we’re not going to view it – as compensation. We are going to view it as our efforts to try to help countries to adapt, to be able to become more resilient and obviously address the challenges that they face as a result of the losses and damages.

“You have to work out the methodology by which you are going to assign a process that works for everybody.”

US envoy John Kerry has said the greatest responsibility lay with those countries which have been the biggest users of fossil fuels. 
Picture: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Mr Kerry said that while it should be possible to reach agreement at the gathering at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, the war in Ukraine had complicated the issue.

“There are people within the fossil fuel industry who are using the crisis in Ukraine, frankly, as leverage to be able to say ‘We need to be pumping a lot more. We’re moving much too fast’. It’s just not true, it’s not an accurate narrative.”

Mr Kerry said, however, that countries were realising they needed to reduce their dependence on oil and gas as a source of energy.

“Many countries in Europe – most of them in fact – have applied the lesson of this war, which is don’t allow a petro-dictator to hold you hostage to energy, don’t let them weaponise it against you,” he said.





WHAT IS...

Climate Justice

Climate justice is an approach that argues there are certain ethical considerations to how we approach tackling climate change.

Initially, the term referred to the injustice that those countries who did least to cause climate change were facing its worst impacts.

The concept was broadened to include gender: the burden of dealing with climate change falls disproportionately on women.

Climate change is an intersectional issue, as climate impacts and climate action have gender, racial, and social class aspects.

Climate Change Much Deadlier Than Cancer In Some Places, UNDP Data Shows

The impact of climate change on health if carbon emissions remain high, could be up to twice as deadly as cancer in some parts of the world, according to new data released on Friday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Climate Impact Lab.

The study gives the example of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where under a scenario of very high emissions by 2100, additional deaths due to climate change could rise to nearly twice the country’s current annual death rate from all cancers, and 10 times its annual road traffic fatalities.

“Because of human action, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is reaching dangerous levels, driving Earth’s temperatures higher and amplifying the frequency of intensity of extreme events”, says the newly launched Human Climate Horizons platform, adding that without concerted and urgent action, climate change will further exacerbate inequalities, and uneven development.

Mortality impacts

Building on the analyses of 2020, 2021 and 2022 Human Development Reports - and fed by an evolving stream of frontier research - the data shows how climate change can impact people’s lives – from mortality to livelihoods, and energy use.

Although higher temperatures and a warmer climate put cardiovascular and respiratory systems under stress everywhere, outcomes will vary between places, according to communities that have the resources to adapt and those that do not.

The data shows that climate change could increase mortality rates in Faisalabad, Pakistan by near 67 deaths per 100,000 population – causing more fatalities than strokes, the country’s third leading cause of death.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, however, higher incomes could keep the death toll to 35 per 100,000, which is still deadlier than Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth leading cause of death globally.

Rising temps

Since the late 19th century, the earth’s average temperature has risen by nearly 1.2°C, changing the entire surface area of the planet, according to the research.

However, billions live in regions that have already experienced warming greater than the global average.

As an example, the platform pointed to Maracaibo, Venezuela, noting that in the 1990s it averaged 62 annual days with temperatures exceeding 35°C. However, by mid-century, that number will likely soar to 201 days.

Energy impacts

Electricity availability and fuels used to generate it to power air conditioners and heaters, play a crucial role in our ability to cope with extreme temperatures, said UNDP.

The impact of climate change differs across sectors of the economy – Human Climate Horizons

Yet, the impacts of climate change on energy use will vary locally, as individuals, communities and businesses adapt to conditions using available resources.

In Jakarta, for example, electricity consumption in response to warmer temperatures is projected to increase by roughly one-third of current household consumption in Indonesia. This will require critical additional infrastructure planning.

Labour impacts

More frequent and severe temperature extremes also impact livelihoods, affecting the ability to perform tasks and influencing work intensity and duration.

“The impact of climate change differs across sectors of the economy with workers in high-risk, weather-exposed industries like agriculture, construction, mining and manufacturing most affected”, according to platform data.

In Niamey, Niger, in sectors such as construction, mining and manufacturing, excessive heat was responsible for 36 fewer working hours annually, taking a 2.5 per cent toll on the country’s future GDP.

Human consequences

As the impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed globally, they will generate a significant uptick in inequalities over the coming years and decades.

But by highlighting that the future is not predetermined, UNDP hopes the information can empower people everywhere, to step up climate action.

The Human Climate Horizons mission is to ensure equal access to data on future impacts, inform decision-making and help everyone understand the human consequences of climate change in different scenarios.

‘Logical economic choice’

Meanwhile, UNDP has also launched the How Just Transition Can Deliver the Paris Agreement report this week, highlighting the need to embrace the “green revolution” – or risk increasing social inequality, civil unrest, economic loss.

Ahead of the UN climate conference, COP27, which kicks off on Sunday in in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the report spotlights the importance of “fair and equitable” transitioning to meeting the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

From providing workers with new green economy skills and access to social protection to ensuring that countries lay out a clear pathway to a net-zero future, UNDP chief Achim Steiner said the report provides “real-world insights into how to accelerate momentum around a just transition that is fair and equitable for the energy sector and beyond”.

A just transition

The report analyses both enhanced short-term climate pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and long-term strategies in which countries lay out plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.

Encouragingly, 72 per cent of nations with enhanced NDCs that refer to a just transition are linking them to socio-economic considerations, while 66 per cent are proposing concrete actions and measures factoring in climate justice.

However, they fail to make linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or gender equality in either short or long-term climate plans – missing a significant opportunity, UNDP said.

“As climate change intensifies and the world faces an immense energy crunch…decoupling from fossil fuels and investing in the green energy infrastructure of tomorrow…[is] the only logical economic choice”, said Mr. Steiner.

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