Humanity is on a “highway to climate hell,” the UN Secretary-General has warned, saying the battle for a livable planet will be won or lost in this decade.
António Guterres told world leaders Monday at the opening of the UN’s Cop27 climate summit in Egypt: “We are in the fight of our lives and we are losing… And our planet is rapidly approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible.” .
“We’re on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
He said the world faces a clear choice over the next fortnight of talks: either developed and developing countries work together to forge a “historic pact” that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and put the world on a low-carbon path — or failure would bring climate collapse and catastrophe.
“We can sign a climate solidarity pact or a collective suicide pact,” he added.
He said the world has the tools it needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in clean energy and low-carbon technology.
“A window of opportunity remains open, but only a narrow ray of light remains,” he said. “The global fight against climate will be won or lost in this crucial decade – under our watch. One thing is certain: whoever gives up will surely lose.”
Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, President of Egypt, said in his opening address at the summit that poor and vulnerable people around the world are already feeling the effects of extreme weather conditions: “The intensity and frequency of climate-related disasters has never been higher today all four corners of the world, bringing wave upon wave of suffering to billions of people. Isn’t it high time today to put an end to this suffering?”
More than 100 world leaders met Monday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for two days behind closed doors and public events to discuss the climate crisis.
Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, will be present for a day along with Olaf Scholz from Germany, Emanuel Macron from France and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Joe Biden, the US President, will arrive later in the week after the US midterm elections.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley will launch a new climate finance initiative for developing countries, and African leaders including William Ruto of Kenya, Macky Sall of Senegal and George Weah, the President of Liberia, are taking part in the talks . The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, also attended the meeting.
Beginning Wednesday, world leaders will hand over to officials and ministers for the remainder of the fortnightly talks. However, the summit promises to be a tense and difficult one with little prospect of a breakthrough.
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The countries meet in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, a global energy and livelihood crisis, and rising global tensions. Rich and poor countries are at odds as major economies have not cut greenhouse gas emissions fast enough and poorer countries, who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, are receiving little of the financial support they need and have been promised.
The Cop27 conference got off to a slow start, with negotiators spending more than 40 hours over the weekend arguing over the agenda. In the end, it was agreed that the contentious issue of losses and damage – relating to the worst impacts of the climate crisis, to which countries are unable to adapt – would be discussed.
Poor countries suffering losses and damage want a financial mechanism that gives them access to finance when disasters such as hurricanes, floods and droughts strike, destroying their infrastructure and tearing apart their social fabric.
It is unlikely that these talks will result in a final solution to losses and damages, but countries are hoping for progress in raising and disbursing funds.
Activists and protesters play a key role at most UN climate summits. However, Egypt cracks down on dissent and its prisons are full of political prisoners. Sisi’s government has promised that the voices of climate activists will be heard, but their activities have been restricted by detaining protesters in a separate location and requiring them To in advance to gain permission for even small demonstrations.