This year has been a “master class in human destruction,” the UN chief said, reflecting on extreme weather events and record temperatures around the world, accelerated by climate change.
Antonio Guterres has painted a grim picture of the effects of climate breakdown that have occurred in recent months. “Families flee for their lives as the next hurricane hits. Workers and pilgrims collapse in unbearable heat. Floods tear through communities and destroy infrastructure. Children go hungry as drought ravages crops. I’m sleeping,” he said. “All these disasters and others are further accelerated by human-induced climate change.”
Guterres was addressing dozens of world leaders and government officials from around 200 countries gathered in Azerbaijan for the Cop29 United Nations Climate Change Summit. Over two weeks of talks, countries will explore ways to raise the huge sums of money needed to tackle the climate crisis.
Developing countries are seeking $1 trillion in annual funding guarantees by 2035 to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of extreme weather events.
The talks have been overshadowed by the re-election of Donald Trump, an avowed climate change denier, as US president. Leaders including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Barbados’ Mia Mottley and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the summit, but most heads of government from the world’s biggest economies refrained from attending.
As revealed by the Guardian, Mr Starmer confirmed a tough new plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which was praised by campaigners and experts. Britain is one of the first major economies to put forward such a plan, months ahead of the United Nations deadline of February next year.
The reduction target of 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 will be partially achieved by decarbonising the electricity sector, but the government will also encourage the use of public transport and walking, as well as the switch from gas to electric heating. It seems necessary to add new policies as well. heat pump.
Mr Starmer told reporters at Cop29 that this does not need to involve dramatic changes to people’s lifestyles, saying: I don’t want to be in the middle of the pack, I want to be ahead of the game. ”
He told reporters: “With this cup, we will further build on our reputation as a climate change leader, aiming to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% compared to 1990, towards the UK’s 2035 NDC target. I’m happy to announce that we are improving.”
Rebecca Newsom, senior policy adviser at Greenpeace International, said: “Mr Starmer’s commitment to relatively ambitious new emissions reduction targets will inject new momentum into the negotiations and will help ensure that he It is right to highlight the huge opportunity for bill reductions offered by the transition, unlocking investment and creating jobs across the UK, but clearer planning is still needed, particularly in offshore oil and gas. We need more investment to help people transition to renewable energy.”
Governments were told in the Kop that they must take concerted action to reduce greenhouse gases or face economic disaster that could threaten elections.
UN climate chief Simon Steele said politics, economics and climate were now fatally intertwined. Governments may be feeling the effects of the worst inflation in decades, but far more serious consequences awaited.
“Inflation will accelerate due to the worsening effects of climate change,” Stiel said, citing some of the economic concerns that have helped right-wing parties around the world win a series of elections over the past year. focused on.
“The climate crisis is a cost of living crisis, as climate disasters drive up costs for households and businesses. Climate finance is global inflation insurance.”
Steele said it was not a question of protecting future generations, but that tackling greenhouse gas emissions was the only way to save the global economy in both the short and long term. “There is a seismic shift in the global climate crisis, because today, in this political cycle, the climate crisis is rapidly becoming economically destructive,” he said.
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President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, the host country of the police, expressed a different opinion. Azerbaijan has been a large producer of oil and gas since the mid-19th century. Fossil fuels account for 90% of the country’s export revenue, and oil and gas extraction infrastructure is everywhere in the capital, Baku, as evidenced by the burning refineries that light up the city’s nightscape and oil wells dotting the outskirts. And tankers come and go. Transporting timber across the Caspian Sea to the port. The country’s symbol is also a flame.
Aliyev, whose family is believed to have made billions of dollars from the country’s natural assets, called Azerbaijan’s oil and gas a “gift from God” and vowed that extraction would continue.
“As President of Cop29, of course we are going to strongly support the green transition, and that is what we are doing,” he said at the event. “But at the same time, we have to be realistic.”
He attacked critics of the country, an authoritarian state found by NGO ratings to be one of the most corrupt in the world, and defended its use of resources. “Countries should not be blamed[for having oil and gas reserves]nor should they be blamed for taking these resources to the market because the market needs those resources. needs them,” he said.
His words contrasted with pleas from leaders of dozens of developing countries for urgent action to stem the rise in carbon emissions and save countries from their effects.
President Hilda Heine of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, whose small, low-lying atoll in the Pacific Ocean is at risk of flooding if temperatures rise further, has told poor people that rich countries must cut greenhouse gas emissions. However, he criticized the government for insisting that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced. Providing access to the funds that make this possible.
“Knowing when the tide is turning is in our blood,” she says. “And when it comes to climate, the tide is turning today.”
Negotiations got off to a slow start on Monday as officials tried to iron out some technical issues before the leaders arrived on Tuesday. Organizers were relieved that a resolution on carbon offset deals was passed, but it was criticized by some civil society groups as flawed and passed in haste.
The talks will continue until Wednesday, with more world leaders expected to speak, including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif.
