The crises that are shaking the world must not hinder the fight against the climate crisis, which is already too timid, pleaded the boss of UN-Climate on Monday June 6, by opening talks supposed to give impetus to the next climate conference in November. in Egypt.
Representatives of nearly 200 countries are gathered for 11 days of "
intermediate session
" in Bonn, headquarters of the specialized UN agency, to try to achieve the ambition displayed six months ago, during COP26 in Glasgow.
“
Climate change cannot be postponed
”
The international community had then reaffirmed the objective - for the time being out of reach - of containing global warming to 1.5°C when we are already at 1.1°C since humanity began to use industrially fossil energies.
Since then, the world has been rocked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its repercussions on energy and food markets, often pushing the climate crisis into the background, despite the release of an alarming new IPCC report. , UN climate experts.
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“
It is not acceptable to say that we are living in difficult times
” to justify inaction because “
climate change is not an issue that we can put off until later,
” hammered in opening the talks the Mexican Patricia Espinosa, outgoing patroness of the UN-climate.
“
Very difficult decisions
”
Because key points remain pending a few months before the next COP27, from November 7 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, a seaside resort on the Red Sea.
And in the first place the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming.
“
We are far from where science tells us we should be
,” insisted Patricia Espinosa, warning “
that we will have to make very difficult decisions
”.
The “
climate pact
” concluded in Glasgow urged countries to “
revisit and strengthen
” their objectives to “
align them
” with those of the Paris agreement “
by the end of 2022
”.
"
We need those plans!"
launched the boss of UN-Climate, calling for "
to advance these negotiations faster
".
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The Paris agreement, a keystone in the fight against climate change, aims to “
contain the rise in the average temperature of the planet well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels
” and if possible to 1, 5°C.
However, many countries are already not keeping their current commitments... which themselves nevertheless leave the Paris objectives "
out of reach
" according to IPCC experts.
They estimate that the world is currently on a catastrophic warming trajectory of 2.8°C.
The absence of new quantified commitments a few months before COP27 illustrates the “
disconnect between the scientific evidence of a global crisis in preparation, with unimaginable climate impacts, and the lack of action,
” laments Johan Rockström, director of the Institute for Research on the Impact of Climate Change in Potsdam (PIK).
"
Clear expectations
"
Another burning issue is aid from rich countries, often the biggest historical emitters, to the poorest, those least responsible for global warming but often on the front line of its impacts.
The promise to help them face the challenges of climate change to the tune of 100 billion dollars per year in 2020 is still not kept.
And faced with the multiplication of droughts, floods and fires or the inexorable rise of the oceans, it is the specific financing of the "
losses and damages
" suffered that is now on the table.
The rich countries had blocked this request in Glasgow, with a final compromise on the creation of a framework of "
dialogue
" until 2024 to "
discuss the modalities for the financing
".
This “
controversial issue must be tackled in a constructive and forward-looking way
,” said Ms. Espinosa, also pleading for better funding for adaptation to the effects of global warming.
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Because mistrust persists.
Bonn must not be "
just another forum for discussions
" warned the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), which demands to leave with "
a clear vision of when and how (will be applied) the specific financing of loss and damage
".
And for Climate Action Network, the world's leading federation of environmental NGOs, these negotiations must "
define clear expectations and prepare the main measures
" to materialize in Sharm el-Sheikh, by "
focusing on the needs of those who are hardest hit. hit by the impacts of the climate crisis
”.