The document puts health at the heart of climate action, but does not mention the need to end its main cause, fossil fuels.
The declaration was joined by powers such as the United States, the European Union and Japan and was sponsored by the Presidency of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), taking place in the United Arab Emirates, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The signatories recognized that reducing the health impacts of climate change requires whole-of-society action, including rapid, large-scale action to decarbonize energy systems and reduce emissions by at least 43 percent over the next seven years.
The WHO estimates that pollution causes nearly nine million deaths each year and more than 189 million people are exposed to extreme events.
To this end, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced his plan to establish a body to ensure the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in a fair, sustainable manner and for the benefit of all countries.
The proposed Panel on Critical Minerals for the Energy Transition will bring together governments, international organizations, industry and civil society to develop common and voluntary principles to guide the extractive industry’s advancement in the coming years “in the name of equity and sustainability.”
This Saturday, at the head of the Group of 77-China summit at COP28, the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, explained that the distance that separates the irrationally wealthy north and the increasingly impoverished south increases with altitude human cost, while the resources that nature provides us are wasted.
“The South cannot be forced to choose between development and climate protection. Both factors are inextricably linked. It is our responsibility to assert the voice of our people and defend their legitimate interests and aspirations,” emphasized Díaz-Canel.
He explained that at a time when there is talk of a just transition, developing countries cannot allow the concept to advance alone, without taking into account the factors that guarantee its realization and taking into account common but differentiated responsibilities.
The Cuban dignitary called on the countries of the South to reflect, unite and act to help solve a global problem that has particular implications for the organization’s members.
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