UN Climate Assembly held amid concerns over Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (comprehensive)

Biden government’s special envoy for climate: “Disappointed with Trump’s election… will try to roll back policies.”

COP29 Chairman: “We’re on the road to destruction”… WMO calls the Paris Agreement a major crisis

(Geneva = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hee Ahn = At ​​the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which opened on the 11th (local time) in Baku, Azerbaijan, warning messages surrounding the rapidly progressing climate crisis continued.

In particular, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, an international commitment to reduce greenhouse gases, during his first term in office, concerns were raised about the possibility of the U.S. withdrawing again.

“We are on a path to destruction,” said COP29 Chairman Muktar Babayev, who is also the environment minister of COP29 host country Azerbaijan. “COP29 will be an opportunity to test our commitment to the multilateral climate system.”

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This can be interpreted as a criticism of the attitude of the parties to the agreement, which places more importance on their own interests than the common goals of humanity, while pointing out the seriousness of global warming that is increasingly distant from the control goals promised by the international community.

Through the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the international community promised to limit the increase in global temperature to ‘1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.’

However, many point out that the greenhouse gas reduction levels of each country that are committed to complying with this goal fall far short of expectations.

Even if all parties fully achieve their current decarbonization pledges, the UN estimates that there is only a 14% chance of controlling temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

Above all, the international community faces the task of setting stronger goals and securing the financial resources to pursue them.

Chairman Babayev said, “It will be a moment of truth” regarding discussions on decarbonization financing at COP29, where there are sharp differences of opinion. This means that each country’s sincerity in preventing climate change will ultimately be proven with money.

This is because the key agenda at COP29 is the ‘New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)’, which contains the amount and method of raising the financial resources needed to respond to the climate crisis after 2025.

Developed countries argue that the scope of donor countries that must pay money should be expanded and that private finances should also be included, but developing countries counter that rather than increasing the number of donors, developed countries should keep their donation obligations under the Climate Change Agreement first and that public finances should be the focus.

Developed countries achieved economic growth first by emitting carbon without restrictions in the past, but now they are trying to place the burden and responsibility for the results on developing countries as well.

“We know that trillions of dollars are needed to combat climate change, but there are many different views on how to achieve this,” Babaev said.

He also said, “We are hearing that each country has hundreds of billions of dollars worth of funds to mobilize directly from the public sector. There are only 12 days left to reach an agreement. We urgently need this agreement to resolve differences of opinion and set new goals.” “It has to be finished,” he emphasized.

In a situation where the international community has expressed differences of opinion over financial resources, a representative of the United States has voiced that Trump’s return to power will make it more difficult for the international community to unite to respond to climate change.

John Podesta, the current U.S. administration’s special envoy for climate, attended COP29 on this day and pointed out, “Trump’s election is a disappointing result for climate activists.”

He said, “The next administration will try to reverse the direction of climate policy, but America’s cities, states, and citizens will fill the void. Even if the federal government puts it on the back burner, America’s efforts to curb climate change will continue.” He emphasized.

He added, “Our fight for a safe planet is not over,” adding, “This fight is bigger than the political cycle of one country.”

On this day, the United Nations highlighted the seriousness of climate change and requested an active response from the international community.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a forecast report predicting that this year will be the hottest year in history, based on the Earth’s average temperature from January to September this year. WMO Director-General Celeste Saulo, who released this report, said, “The ambitious plan of the Paris Agreement is in great danger.”

He mentioned the fact that it has brought about extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, and said, “Unfortunately, this is our new reality and we are already experiencing the future.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Climate disaster is threatening health, deepening inequality and harming sustainable development,” and called for active response from the parties.

prayerahn@yna.co.kr

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2024/11/12 00:43 Sent