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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Soource :Watson
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.
