The UN Secretary-General has urged all countries to declare a state of emergency.
António Guterres was speaking at a five-year commemorative conference on the Paris climate agreement,
He criticized rich countries for spending more than 50% of their gross oil exports compared to low power.
What Boris Johnson Said?
Boris Johnson has said that tackling climate change will create millions of new jobs around the world.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the year would end with “a certain amount of scientific optimism” because “after 12 months of the epidemic, we are seeing a vaccine enter the arms of the elderly”.
He added: “Together we can use scientific advances to protect our entire planet – our biosphere – in the face of the worst, most devastating, even coronavirus challenge. And with the promethean power of our invention, we can begin to defend our planet against global warming.”
Secretary-General Of The UN Speaks
More than 70 world leaders are due to speak at a conference organized by the UK, UN and France.
Mr Guterres said 38 countries had already declared a state of emergency and called on world leaders to do the same.
He said the emergency would only end if carbon neutral was found.
On the use of Covid recovery funds, he said this was a loan to future generations.
“We cannot use these resources to shut down policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet,” he said.
Climate Ambition Summit
The Secretary-General commended the countries that attended the conference today for new goals and programs.
Most of the presenting officials, including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Mexico, did not participate, as their climate actions could not be considered promising.
The UK has announced the end of funding for overseas fuel projects, and today launched a new climate plan for the UN.
It is the first time that Britain has had to do this, as previously written on the European Union’s climate commitment.
Today’s rally comes after an epidemic caused the postponement of the annual conference of the Parties (COP), which was to be held in Glasgow this year.
The UK says today’s short, action-oriented conference will prioritize new international commitments.
About 70 leaders from around the world will take part, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and President Macron of France. Pope Francis will also address the gathering.
UK will mark its new commitment to overseas petrol projects and a new target of 68% carbon offset by 2030, announced last week by the Prime Minister.
International Cooperation And Commitments
The EU will also introduce a new 2030 policy of 55% reduction in electricity tariffs, agreed upon overnight negotiations this week.
China and India will also take part, although the magnitude of their new obligations is unclear.
Australia has pledged not to use old carbon bills to meet future reductions.
But the UK has seen that this has not gone far enough and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will not take part.
Russia, South Africa and Saudi Arabia will also not be involved.
Some viewers believe this hard line is right.
“From a practical point of view, it is good to have everyone on board,” said Professor Heike Schroeder of the University of East Anglia.
“But when we work, we make some kind of sense of urgency, it also makes sense that we say we will only hear from you if you have something new to say.”
Boris Johnson’s excessive support for the heavy cuts follows the tradition of the British leadership on climate change.
UK experts play a key role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, advising on science and policy.
Politically, the UK was a key player in negotiating the 1992 Rio Framework Convention on Climate Change. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott set the table in the middle of the night to enforce the 1997 climate change law in Kyoto.
The UK then passed its landmark legislation that mandated step-by-step cuts, and established its own Climate Change Committee to show how.
The UK’s Plan
The UK strengthened the EU’s climate ambition. The Prince of Wales business leadership group later reassured politicians that influential CEOs would support measures to reduce CO2
Economically, the 2006 UK Stern Review has shown that ignoring climate change is more expensive than it actually is.
And recently, the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, argued that banks should reject mineral firms because they pose an investment risk. No other country has a record like this.
The UK wants to focus on countries set to make new net-zero announcements, or introduce new 2030 programs.
Boris Johnson said climate change “is already costing lives and livelihoods around the world, our actions as leaders should not be carried out not by fear or vigilance, but by burning on a very large scale.
“That is why the UK has recently taken the lead in a new commitment to reduce pollution by at least 68% by 2030, which is why I am pleased to say today that the UK will end taxpayer support with overseas petrol projects as soon as possible.”
Five years since the Paris agreement was adopted have been the warmest in history, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and pollution continues to rise in the atmosphere.
By that time, many countries and businesses have embarked on a decarbonization process.
The progress they have made now needs to be welcomed and encouraged, said former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.
“This Saturday, they are focused on reducing pollution, and that’s a good thing because that progress in the real economy needs to be reflected and encouraged by those additional commitments.”
One area that is likely to bring any progress to this meeting is the financial question. Wealthy nations have pledged to raise $ 100bn a year from 2020 under the Paris agreement – but cash commitments have not yet been met.
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