Big nations urged to heed climate activists' demands for action ahead of UN COP26
Image credit aljazeera
The world's major economies must do more at the upcoming UN
COP26 climate summit in Scotland to show they are serious about wanting to
tackle global warming and heed the warnings of young activists, policymakers
said on Saturday.
COP26 President Alok Sharma said there was renewed urgency
in the climate debate following preparatory talks in Milan where thousands of
youth activists, including Greta Thunberg, urged governments to match words
with action and stump up billions of dollars to wean the world off fossil
fuels.
"We had a very constructive set of discussions and
there was a real sense of urgency in the room," Britain's Sharma told
reporters after the meeting in Italy's financial capital.
Scott Morrison confirms he's unlikely to attend UN climate
summit in Glasgow
The COP26 conference in Glasgow aims to secure bolder
climate action from the nearly 200 countries that signed the 2015 Paris
Agreement and agreed to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius
above pre-industrial levels.
Mr Sharma said delegates in Milan agreed to do more to keep
the 1.5 degrees target within reach and deliver on a $A138 billion ($US100
billion) per year pledge to help the most vulnerable nations confront climate
change.
"The energy that came forward from the (youth) did
galvanise the ministers," Mr Sharma said. "As we go forward in the
next few weeks and into the COP, we must always keep (their) voices ... in our
minds."
New energy and funding pledges from the United States and
China have raised negotiators' hopes, but many G20 countries - including major
polluters such as China and India - have yet to announce updates of their
short-term climate plans.
Mr Sharma said national action plans needed to include more
ambitious targets for emissions reduction.
Image for read more article ''30 years of blah, blah, blah':
Greta Thunberg slams global leaders' climate action'
'30 years of blah, blah, blah': Greta Thunberg slams global
leaders' climate action
'Trillions, not billions'
US Climate Envoy John Kerry also urged major economies to
commit to more radical policies.
"We now have about 55 per cent of global GDP (gross
domestic product) committed to undertake tracks that will hold the temperature
to 1.5 degrees," he said.
Wealthy nations pledged a decade ago to mobilise $US100
billion a year to help vulnerable countries adapt and transition to cleaner
energy, but they are still short of their 2020 goal.
"(The) private sector is needed for this ... We'll be
announcing one specific agenda item in conjunction with the World Economic
Forum," he said, without giving further details.
Financing climate action will be vital to the success of
COP26, said Oscar Soria, campaign director at the US-based activist network
Avaaz who was in Milan for the talks.
"Developing and developed nations should urgently sit
together to design a plan: without real money at the table it will be difficult
to build trust in the negotiations in Glasgow," Mr Soria said.
Australia's climate commitments 'inadequate', Turnbull says
Mr Sharma said all countries agreed on the need to
decarbonise their economies, with a 2030 target date for industrial nations,
and 2040 for other countries.
Asked about coal mining, EU climate commissioner Frans
Timmermans said the industry would gradually disappear even without specific
climate action because it would eventually become economically unviable.
"I'd be highly surprised if there is still a
significant coal mining industry after 2040," he said, adding that
negotiators were in a "constructive dialogue with India and China".
China and India, the world's top two coal producers, still
rely on coal for much of their power supply.
Credit; Source: SBS.com Reuters – Header Image changed. No change have been done except adding images by blueplanet
No comments