In a speech Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned that the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is still “dwarfed by the scale of the challenge.”
It’s the latest attempt by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to sum up the horrors occurring in what is shaping up to be the hottest year in human history in a soundbite. He described the planet’s course last year as a “highway to hell.” He stated in March that “humanity is on thin ice, and that ice is melting quickly.” In July, when temperatures in certain regions of the planet hit 130 degrees Fahrenheit, he announced the commencement of “the era of global boiling.”
With four months left in the year, the United States has counted 23 climate catastrophes totaling at least $1 billion in losses by August. Floods surged over Libya, killing hundreds and washing them out to sea, where the waves piled remains like frothy driftwood on the beach. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund released fresh statistics at the start of the hottest August on record, revealing that heat and humidity exposed 76% of children in South Asia to high temperatures.
Guterres gave his statement at the start of the United Nations General Assembly’s latest “climate ambition summit” in New York. Since 2009, New York has capitalized on the fact that many of the world’s leaders and diplomats would be in the city for the General Assembly by staging an annual week of climate-focused activities known as “Climate Week” prior to the formal U.N. summit that takes place overseas in November.
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Dubai to Host UN Climate Summit with UAE’s Oil Leader at the Helm: A Crucial ‘Stocktake’ After 2015 Paris Agreement
The United Nations Climate Summit will be held in Dubai in two months, with Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, the president of the UAE’s national oil corporation, in charge of the negotiations. The summit will be the first since the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, which includes the two biggest polluters, China and the United States, to demand an official “stocktake” to assess progress over the previous eight years.
“The transition from fossil fuels to renewables is taking place,” Guterres stated on Wednesday. “We must make up for lost time due to foot-dragging, arm-twisting, and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”
Of course, he said, it would be difficult. The inability of rich countries to contribute financing to assist poorer countries adapt and avoid using additional fossil fuels has left many “angry that they are suffering the most from a climate crisis they did not create” and “angry that promised finance has not materialized,” Guterres said.
“Shady pledges have betrayed the public trust,” he claimed. “Shamefully, some companies have even attempted to obstruct the transition to net zero by delaying, distracting, and deceiving.”
He encouraged nations to begin discussions immediately in order to generate momentum for November.
“We need a transformation to rebuild trust,” he explained. “Governments must exert pressure on the global financial system to support climate action.”
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Source: HuffPost
