Protests at UN climate conference – “Children should not eat coal” Protests at UN climate conference – “Children should not eat coal”

At the world climate conference in Egypt, environmentalists denounced the fact that many countries want to deal with the energy crisis with new oil and gas projects. The prominent Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate especially rebuked similar plans in Africa, in which Germany also wants to participate. “Children cannot eat coal, children cannot drink oil, children cannot breathe gas,” Nakate said in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday. The EU Environment Agency warned that the escalating climate crisis is also increasing health risks for people in Europe, for example from more heat waves and infectious diseases.

During the war in Ukraine, gas supplies from Russia stopped, leaving many countries now operating coal-fired power plants longer and dependent on liquefied gas – including Germany. For example, the fact that Germany wants to support the development of a gas field in Senegal is causing outrage among climate protectors given the further increase in CO2 emissions.

The return to fossil fuels was also part of a protest at the entrance to the COP27 site. “The situation is incredibly serious,” said activist Susanne Wong of the dpa’s Oil Change organization.

At COP27, representatives from nearly 200 countries discuss how to step up the fight against global warming. The conference with 45,000 registered participants will run until the end of next week.

A new data report shows that the extraction and production of oil and gas releases three times more climate-damaging gases than states previously officially reported to the UN. This is evident from measurements from the non-profit initiative Trace, in which data analysts, researchers and non-governmental organizations work together.

Former US Vice President Al Gore is also involved. The Nobel Peace Prize winner said that the emissions of the greenhouse gas methane in the fossil fuel factories in particular are grossly underestimated, for example when they are deliberately burned down and through leaks. “It’s really shocking.” According to the data report, half of the world’s largest sources of climate-damaging greenhouse gases are oil and gas production sites and associated facilities.

According to the data, Germany emitted about 1.4 percent of globally registered greenhouse gases in 2021 – ranking 10th among all countries in terms of quantity. China ranks first with a 27.6 percent share of gas emissions, followed by the US at just under 12 percent.

Climate experts criticize US plans

Meanwhile, the German government and climate experts are skeptical of new US plans to allow major corporations to buy credits for greenhouse gas emissions. That should be possible when financing clean energy projects in poorer countries, said US climate envoy John Kerry in Sharm el Sheikh. For example, companies should help finance the energy transition in developing countries – and add the saved emissions to their own climate balance. “No government in the world has enough money to do this job,” Kerry said.

The federal government has expressed reservations. There is a “certain skepticism”, says Secretary of State for Development Jochen Flasbarth of the website “Politico”. Leo Roberts of climate think tank E3G said the world needs clear commitments that this initiative is really making a net contribution to reducing greenhouse gases.

Malaria and dengue fever are spreading north

The Copenhagen-based EU energy agency said diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are likely to spread further north due to global warming, with high disease burdens. And heat waves are a growing threat as they become more frequent and severe as a result of climate change. They are already the biggest health threat directly related to the climate for Europeans. More green and shady places in cities and adjusted working hours can provide relief.

MSF’s international medical director Maria Guevara told the German news agency that global health is already suffering significantly from the effects of climate change, such as flooding or insect plagues. You see an exponential growth of diseases that are transmitted through insects, water or food. “For example, fewer than 20 major cholera outbreaks were reported per year between 2017 and 2021. This year there are already at least 29.”

China demands billions in climate aid pledges from rich countries

From a Chinese point of view, the rich countries should fulfill their promise “as soon as possible” and provide $100 billion annually for climate protection measures in poorer countries. In addition, a roadmap on how to double the volume of the climate change adaptation fund should be presented, China’s climate commissioner Xie Zhenhua said in a speech in Sharm el Sheikh published by state media. In view of the current energy and food crisis, solidarity, multilateralism and cooperation are all the more “the only way out of the dilemma”. (saw/sda/dpa)