By Janet Ekstract
UNITED NATIONS (TURKISH JOURNAL) – On Wednesday, in an interview with Reuters news agency at UN headquarters, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “I believe that we are at risk of not having a success in COP26.” He reiterated that statement on Friday when he spoke at the Major Economies Forum, commenting that the upcoming conference has a “high risk of failure.” His comments come a little over a month from the much anticipated international climate conference scheduled to meet in Glasgow this November. The purpose behind the conference is to bring a multitude of world leaders and international participants together to commit to a more ambitious climate action plan as well as pledge financial support for their respective climate action goals.
The UN chief explained that the reason he thinks COP26 may fail is because of what he outlined is mistrust between developed and developing countries. He commented: “There still is a level of mistrust between north and south, developed and developing countries, that needs to be overcome.” He pointed out that due to a lack of ambitious climate goals in some emerging economies that this could prove a hindrance to the conference’s success.
Meanwhile, according to a report on global emissions targets, by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – the earth is on a collision course to a warming of 2.7 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels which scientists said is way above what the world should be targeting. Scientists reported that globally there must be a 45 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 to reach carbon neutrality by mid-century. The issue is that under current emissions commitments from countries, there will be a 16 percent increase in emissions in 2030 compared to levels in 2010, the report stated. The consensus is that global temperatures must remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis.
The secretary-general labeled the earth’s current trajectory on clımate change “catastrophic” in a statement he made about the UN report. He said: “This is breaking the promise made six years ago to pursue the 1.5-degree Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement.” He added: “Failure to meet this goal will be measured in the massive loss of lives and livelihoods.” Guterres reiterated his message of six years ago when he commented: “It is clear that everyone must assume their responsibilities.” Also, in his statement about the report, he urged all countries to commit to more ambitious climate goals known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). He urged developed nations to move forward with the decades-long $100 billion promise to support developing countries with their climate action commitments.
Guterres warned: “We are on the verge of the abyss and when you are on the verge of the abyss, you need to be very careful about what the next step is. And the next step is COP26 in Glasgow.” According to the UN’s interim NDC registry, there are currently 191 countries who are part of the Paris Agreement but only 59 percent of them have submitted new or updated climate action goals. As the secretary-general further warned: “We have the tools to achieve this target.” And he added: “But we are rapidly running out of time.”
