United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Monday that Hurricane Ian, one of the biggest storms to hit the United States, is a “brutal reminder that no country and no economy is immune from the climate crisis.” .
Guterres’ statements were made in the framework of the meeting of environment ministers from some 50 countries that starts today in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to negotiate ahead of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27), which will take place in Egypt from November 16 to 18.
At the United Nations headquarters in New York, António Guterres considered this Monday that climate chaos is only increasing, while “climate action has stalled.”
“Starting today, government representatives will meet in Kinshasa for the critique ahead of COP27, which will lay the groundwork. The work ahead is immense. As immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world: one third of Pakistan was flooded; the hottest regions of Europe summer in 500 years; (…) all of Cuba in blackout; and here in the United States, Hurricane Ian was a brutal reminder that no country and no economy is immune to the climate crisis,” he said.
Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday with 150 mph winds, killing at least 54 people, flooding homes and leaving more than a million homes without power.
Also in Cuba, the hurricane left a trail of destruction and three deaths.
According to a preliminary study by US scientists published on Friday, rainfall linked to Hurricane Ian has increased by at least 10% due to climate change.
In a direct criticism of the world’s richest countries, the UN secretary general said that the collective commitments of the G20 governments are too few and too late.
“Together, current promises and policies are closing the door on our chance to limit global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius, let alone reach the 1.5 degree goal. We are in a life-and-death struggle for our own lives.” and our survival tomorrow. (…) It is time for a compromise at the quantum level between developed and emerging economies”, she appealed.
Guterres urged the ministers now meeting in Kinshasa to work to ensure action at COP27 and “not another dead-end discussion” and, on the financial front, he asked for “clarity” from developed countries “on where, this year, they will fulfill their delivery promises. of 100,000 million dollars (101,800 million euros) per year to support climate action in developing countries”.
“And the multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, must do better. Emerging economies, in particular, need their support for the renewable energy revolution and resilience building,” he said in a press release.
The former Portuguese prime minister also lamented that the war in Ukraine is leaving climate action on the back burner.
Guterres concluded with a request to heads of state and government to attend COP27 and tell the world what climate action they will take nationally and globally.
“World leaders can demonstrate through their presence and active participation that climate action is indeed a top global priority,” he urged.
Source: TSF
