United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday that they face a tough choice: work together now to reduce emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.
The speech aims to set an urgent tone as governments meet for two-week talks on how to avoid the worst effects of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant inflation and energy shortages.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told delegates gathered in the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Country leaders will speak throughout the day.
Guterres called for an agreement between the world’s richest and poorest countries to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels and provide the necessary funds to enable the poorest countries to reduce emissions and cope with the inevitable effects of warming.
“The two largest economies, the United States and China, have a special responsibility to join forces to make this deal a reality,” he said.
Guterres urged countries to agree to phase out the use of coal, one of the most carbon-intensive fuels worldwide, by 2040, and members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have reached this milestone by 2030.
Despite decades of climate negotiations – Egypt’s COP is the 27th conference – progress has been insufficient to save the planet from overheating because countries are either too slow or unwilling to act, the UN chief noted.
“Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Global temperatures continue to rise. And our planet is rapidly approaching tipping points where the climate chaos will be irreversible,” he said. “We’re on a road to climate hell with our feet on the gas.”
The signatories of the Paris 2015 climate agreement have committed to achieving a long-term goal of preventing global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Scientists have set this as a ceiling to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Guterres said keeping hope of meeting this goal alive means achieving net zero global emissions by 2050.
“It’s either the Climate Solidarity Pact – or the Mass Suicide Pact,” he said.
source: Noticias
