Updated on 11/06/2022 at 19:23
- Representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Sharm el Sheikh to discuss measures to combat climate change.
- Timing is of the essence – the last eight years have been the warmest on record, says a new report.
- The ambitious target of 1.5 degrees can probably only be achieved through a radical change in climate policy.
The COP27 world climate conference opened in Egypt overshadowed by several global crises. This year’s conference is part of a 30-year journey since the signing of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, said COP27 President, Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Schukri, at the start at the spa resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. on Sunday . Lessons must be learned from devastating weather events in Pakistan, Africa, parts of Europe and America. In light of the climate talks, Schukri said: “There will be no winners in zero-sum games.”
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the importance of containing global warming. “Humanity is heading towards an abyss, towards a warming of more than 2.5 degrees, with devastating effects on our lives on the only planet we have”, said Baerbock (Greens) com. The world has “all the necessary instruments at hand to limit the climate crisis and get on the 1.5 degree path”.
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In Sharm el Sheikh, on the Red Sea, representatives from nearly 200 countries will spend two weeks discussing how the fight against global warming can be stepped up. Time is of the essence, according to a report by the World Climate Organization (WMO) presented on Sunday. Among the approximately 110 heads of state and government who will be present will be Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden, as well as the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. 44,000 participants were registered at the site on Sunday.
The chairman of last year’s COP26 conference in Glasgow, Alok Sharma, said before handing it over to Shukri that entire regions of the world had become uninhabitable. The pressure on people who need to move is almost unimaginable. Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin directly, he said: “Putin’s brutal and illegal war in Ukraine has created several global crises – energy and food insecurity, inflationary pressures and a spiraling debt.” These crises would have exacerbated existing vulnerabilities to climate change.
The concentration of greenhouse gases at a new high
According to the WMO report on the current state of the climate, the last eight years are pointing to the warmest on record. The global average temperature was recently estimated to be about 1.15 degrees above the pre-industrial average.
According to the WMO, the concentration of the most important greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) – reached a new record in 2021, and the increase in methane was even greater than ever before. . The concentration of all three gases in the atmosphere continued to increase in the current year. “We have such high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that the 1.5 degree target is barely within reach,” said Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. The greater the global warming, the worse the effects.
According to climate researchers, global warming must be stopped by 1.5 degrees to avoid crossing dangerous tipping points and avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Theoretically it is still possible, but only through a radical change of direction in climate policy. The international community has agreed to this goal, but is far from doing enough to implement it politically.
Guterres: “Chronicle of Climate Chaos”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “The latest report on the state of the world’s climate is a chronicle of climate chaos.” The world must respond with ambitious and credible actions. “COP27 must be the place for this and now must be the time.”
According to the WMO, extreme weather events in the current year have affected millions of people and cost billions. By mid-year, up to 19.3 million people were affected by unsafe or inadequate access to food as a result of extremely prolonged droughts in East Africa. The recent flood in Pakistan claimed the lives of at least 1,700 people and displaced nearly eight million people from their homes.
In a tentative success, COP participating states put the issue of financing climate-related damage and loss on the official agenda for the first time. That means damage from extreme weather events and slow changes. Developing countries, which are particularly vulnerable to climate damage, have long fought for formal negotiations on the issue.
The special representative for international climate policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jennifer Morgan, spoke of an “important step” at the beginning. It shows the willingness of States to “work together to face the climate crisis”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “No one can be just a passenger on this journey. This is a sign that times have changed.” The voices of science on climate change and its consequences could hardly be “clearer, stronger and more serious,” said Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
According to Human Rights Watch, host Egypt has shown no sign of improving human rights. “As COP27 participants arrive, it is clear that the Egyptian government has no intention of relaxing its abusive security measures,” said Adam Coogle, the organization’s North African affairs officer. This also applies to the severely restricted freedom of expression and assembly in Egypt. At COP27, protests are only allowed at certain times and in a specially designated zone.
Democracy activist risks his life
Democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, imprisoned for nearly ten years, has become a symbol of human rights. Agnès Callamard, secretary general of the human rights organization Amnesty International, said there was “a maximum of 72 hours” to save her life during a visit to Cairo on Sunday. The 40-year-old also started without water after a hunger strike on Sunday. The body can normally survive without water for only three to four days.
In Germany, climate activists protested Sunday at Neuschwanstein Castle in the Allgäu for more climate protection. In Madrid, climate activists took action in the Prado and glued themselves to the frames of two famous paintings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya. Madrid’s most important museum criticized the action. (best/dpa)
Updated on 10/20/2022 at 15:39
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