Climate conference at the UN summit: US and China were not allowed to speak – for a simple reason UN Security Council: Lavrov does not show up at first ++ Scholz attacks Putin

On Wednesday, heads of state met for a climate conference on the sidelines of the general UN debate in New York. The world’s biggest polluters were banned from giving a speech.
September 20, 2023, New York, New York, USA: A panoramic view of the Climate Ambition Summit at UN Headquarters during the week of the 2023 UNGA meeting. This year the main focus is on...

UN Secretary General António Guterres invited people to a climate conference on Wednesday. One of the objectives: to highlight the efforts of the most ambitious heads of state and government in the field of climate policy – ​​and at the same time send a signal to those who make too little effort in this area.

“Mankind has opened the gates to hell.”

In his opening speech at the one-day conference, Guterres found clear words: “The terrible heat has terrible consequences. Desperate farmers see their crops washed away by the floods. Humid temperatures promote diseases,” says the Portuguese. Action against climate change is currently completely overshadowed by the scale of the challenges. He added that if nothing changes, humanity is heading towards a dangerous and unstable world.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives at the SDG Summit at United Nations Headquarters, Monday, September 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Antonio Guterres

No mention of the largest CO₂ emitters

António Guterres has long been committed to making climate change a priority on the United Nations agenda. He has repeatedly described current climate policy as ‘pathetic’ and regularly calls on the largest CO₂ emitters to move away from fossil energy as quickly as possible.

In this regard, Guterres was consistent on Wednesday when he only allowed heads of state and government to give a speech that he believes take the climate crisis and its fight against it seriously and tackle it accordingly.

Scholz was allowed to speak, Sunak was not

Of the nearly 200 countries participating in the General Assembly in New York, only 34 countries and seven non-governmental organizations were able to “secure speaking places.” There were no heavyweights on the list of speeches: representatives from China, India and the US were not allowed to speak. Rishi Sunak was also not on the list. The Prime Minister of Great Britain recently made the news because he thinks his country’s climate goals are too expensive and therefore wants to weaken them.

Of the four largest CO₂ emitters, only the EU – representative of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen – was allowed to make an official speech.

September 20, 2023, New York, New York, USA: URSULA GERTRUD VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, speaks at the Climate Ambition Summit at UN Headquarters during the week of the 202...

Olaf Scholz also spoke on behalf of Germany and called on the international community to make greater efforts in climate protection: “Our ambition to make 2023 a turning point for climate protection must be even greater,” Scholz said. He was later criticized by Greenpeace for his speech. Given his domestic political efforts, his words are unbelievable, Greenpeace said.

Big applause for the governor of California

Despite the ‘gag order’, an American was still allowed to address the international community. California Governor Gavin Newsom represented his state instead of the US. Newsom recently passed a series of climate measures. He has also announced that his state, California, will sue the major oil companies. The accusation: years of disinformation campaigns.

“The climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis. It’s not complicated.”
May 27, 2023 - Los Angeles, California, USA - California Governor GAVIN NEWSOM speaks at the California Democratic Party's 2023 ReOrganizing State Convention held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  ...

According to the New York Times, Newsom’s speech received the most applause. Presumably, the paper says, because he did what many others did not: he confronted fossil fuel producers. It’s about burning oil, gas and coal, Newsom said. ‘We have to expose this. For decades, the oil industry has fooled everyone in this room.” Their “deception and denial” created the conditions that prevail today, the governor said.

Take climate change as seriously as you take the war in Ukraine

The climate summit coincided with a UN Security Council meeting on the war in Ukraine, which now dominates the meeting’s agenda for the second year.

“I hope we can take climate change seriously in the Security Council, just as we can take Ukraine seriously,” said Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados. She is one of the world’s leading politicians on climate issues. Climate change is indeed the bigger threat, with more lives at stake worldwide, Mottley said.

Little concrete

Even though the summit was not necessarily intended for that purpose, despite the big speeches, few new commitments ultimately emerged. Indeed, some EU countries and Canada declared that they would devote a greater share of their budgets to combating climate change in developing countries.

(lacquer)

Soource :Watson

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Amelia

Amelia

I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.

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