The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, attended by leaders from nearly 200 countries, concluded on Sunday with an agreement to establish a climate change fund. Unchecked carbon emissions by rich countries.
Highlights
- The historic ‘loss and damage’ fund deal, which proponents describe as an act of ‘climate justice’, comes after advanced industrial nations have been criticized for years for their role in raising global temperatures, the impact of which is felt by the poorest and poorest. weak states.
- The fund will allow the poorest and most vulnerable countries, such as small islands, to compensate in the event of weather disasters such as floods, storms, heat waves and droughts.
- After opposing previous calls for such a fund, the United States and European countries finally agreed to a “loss and damage” fund, on the condition that China contributes money to it and cannot receive the money, according to the New York Times.
- The exact details of how the fund will operate have yet to be worked out, but climate conference participants agreed to set up a “transition committee” to recommend how it should be funded and implemented.
- Other than agreeing on financing, little progress has been made on the emissions issue. The text of the agreement even refers to natural gas as “low-emissions” energy, which has raised concerns that the group may have agreed to use carbon-emitting fossil fuels that several countries are working to reduce.
- However, the final agreement retains the goal of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C.
Key quote
Speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries, Pakistan’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, said: “The establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund is not charity. It is a down payment on our common future. It is a down payment on climate justice.” She then added on Twitter: “This declaration offers hope to vulnerable communities around the world who are struggling to survive in the face of climate change. It adds some credibility to the COP process.” Pakistan has been hit by one of the worst weather disasters this year, with severe floods in the south of the country killing at least 1,717 people and affecting about 33 million people, including 16 million children.
The main criticism
Addressing the closing session in Sharm el-Sheikh, Alok Sharma, the British MP and former minister who chaired the COP26 conference in Glasgow last year, blasted the final deal warning. He cautioned that he had reneged on last year’s agreement, saying: ‘We have joined many parties in proposing a number of measures that would help reduce emissions before 2025, as the scientific community deems necessary. Not in this text. Clear trace of coal phase-out. Not in this text. A clear commitment to phasing out all fossil fuels. Not in this text. And the text on energy is weak in the last minutes.” He added: “In Glasgow I said the aspiration at 1.5 degrees was low. Unfortunately, it’s even worse now.”
Translated article from the American magazine Forbes – Author: Siladitya Ray
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