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2020-12-14
BARCELONA－UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called on every country to declare a "climate emergency" as world leaders marking the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate accord made mostly incremental pledges relative to the scale of the crisis.
Guterres made his call at a summit aimed at building on momentum behind the Paris deal, buoyed in recent months by a renewed commitment by China and the prospect of US President-elect Joe Biden bringing the United States back into the pact.
Nevertheless, the dozens of leaders who spoke mostly offered tweaks to existing commitments or promises of bolder moves before crucial talks in Glasgow late next year, rather than breakthrough new policies to hasten the end of fossil fuels.
"Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?" Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister who has made climate change his signature issue, said via video.
"That is why today I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a state of climate emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached."
With the impacts of climate change increasingly stark since the Paris deal was struck, ranging from wildfires in Australia and California to collapsing ice sheets, popular pressure has grown on leaders to listen to warnings from scientists.
The United Kingdom, co-hosting the summit, made one of the clearest new commitments, announcing late on Friday that it would stop direct government support for overseas fossil fuel projects.
Campaigners hailed the move for putting pressure on other G7 economies to restrict support for oil and gas companies.
Renewed pledges to back the Paris accord from countries such as India, Germany and France were welcomed less in terms of substance and more for keeping alive hopes of faster action to meet the monumental challenge of halving global emissions by 2030 in line with the accord.
Guterres said rich countries are "lagging badly" on a long-standing pledge to channel $100 billion a year in funding from 2020 to help poorer countries develop cleanly and adapt to the worsening impacts of climate change.
A new report by climate finance experts estimated the promise would not be met this year, he said.
Donors had also not responded adequately to the financial crisis brought about by the pandemic to provide cash-strapped developing countries with liquidity and debt relief, he said.
"There is a clear need to increase both forms of finance, and they should be interlinked," he said, calling for the pandemic recovery to be climate-friendly.
Agencies Via Xinhua
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