“Pay or humanity will pay the price”

“The sound you hear is the ticking of the clock. We are in the final countdown to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. And time is not on our side,” he warned.

In his opening speech to the Global Leaders’ Summit for Climate Action, the ministerial segment of COP29, which officially opened on Tuesday in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, Mr. Guterres provided evidence of this by indicating that 2024 is almost certain to be the hottest year on record.

“No country is spared” by climate destruction, he recalled, citing hurricanes, boiling seas, crops ravaged by drought, “all of this being boosted by climate change caused by being human “.

The global economy is marked by supply chain shocks increasing costs everywhere; decimated harvests are driving up global food prices; destroyed homes increase insurance premiums.

“This is the story of preventable injustice. The rich are at the origin of the problem and the poor pay the high price,” argued the UN chief, noting that the NGO Oxfam found that the richest billionaires emit more carbon in an hour and a half than the average person in an entire lifetime.

“Unless emissions fall and adaptation soars,” he stressed, “all economies will face far greater fury.”

But there is every reason to hope, the Secretary-General continued, highlighting the strong steps that were taken last year at the United Arab Emirates Climate Conference.

At COP28, all countries agreed to abandon fossil fuels, accelerate the implementation of net-zero energy systems, setting milestones to achieve this, boost climate adaptation and align the next series of national climate plans – or PNC – on the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius set in Paris.

“It is time to act,” he said, noting that a survey by the University of Oxford and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) found that 80% of people in the world wanted more action in favor of the climate. Furthermore, “scientists, activists and young people are demanding change – they must be heard, not silenced.”

The UN chief then highlighted that last year, for the first time, the amount of investment in grids and renewable energy exceeded that of investment in fossil fuels and that today, almost everywhere, solar and wind power are the cheapest sources of electricity.

“Doubling down on fossil fuels is absurd. The clean energy revolution is underway. No group, no company, no government can stop it. But you can and must ensure that it is fair and fast enough to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” he explained.

Taking all of this into account, Mr. Guterres said that “developing countries must not leave Baku empty-handed” and urged world leaders at COP29 to focus on three areas for immediate action:

1. Urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions – reducing emissions by 9% each year to reach 43% of 2019 levels by 2030. This is the clearest path to limiting greenhouse gas emissions. global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

2. Do more to protect people from the ravages of the climate crisis. The gap between adaptation needs and financing could reach $359 billion per year by 2030. Missing dollars are not abstractions on a balance sheet, they are lives lost and crops and development denied .

3. Break down the walls of climate finance by adopting a new financing target that includes a significant increase in concessional public financing; a clear indication of how public financing will mobilize the billions of dollars that developing countries need; the use of innovative sources; establishing a framework for greater accessibility, transparency and accountability; and increasing lending capacity for bigger, bolder multilateral development banks.

“When it comes to financing the fight against climate change, the world must pay, otherwise humanity will pay the price,” insisted the UN Secretary-General.

He reminded world leaders that “you and your governments must be guided by a clear truth: financing the fight against climate change is not charity, it is an investment; Climate action is not optional, it is imperative.”

These two elements are essential, he added, “to guarantee a livable world for all of humanity. And a prosperous future for all nations on the planet.”
https://news.un.org/fr