‘Cooperate or perish’: At COP27 UN chief calls for Climate Solidarity Pact
Barbados Prime Minister and SDG Advocate Mia Mottley, made a case for tackling the issue of loss and damage, one of COP27’s most debated themes. She saluted Denmark, Belgium and Scotland for allocating funds for developing countries, with barely any responsibility for global emissions, strongly affected by climate change.
(United Nations News) At the opening of the two-day Climate Implementation Summit at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, António Guterres called for a historic pact between developed and developing countries to combine capacities, and pivot the world towards reducing carbon emissions, transforming energy systems and avoiding a climate catastrophe.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish. It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact – or a Collective Suicide Pact,” the UN Secretary-General told over 100 world leaders reunited for the first official plenary of the UN Climate Change Conference.
The proposed Pact would see all countries taking extra efforts to reduce emissions, wealthier nations and international financial institutions providing assistance to emerging economies, ending dependence on fossil fuels and the building of coals plants, providing sustainable energy for all, and uniting to combine strategy and capacities for the benefit of humankind.
“The two largest economies – the United States and China – have a particular responsibility to join efforts to make this Pact a reality. This is our only hope of meeting our climate goals,” he emphasized.
Mr. Guterres said that soon the 8 billionth member of the human family will be born, and that milestone puts into perspective what COP27 is all about.
“How will we answer when ‘Baby 8 Billion’ is old enough to ask: What did you do for our world – and for our planet – when you had the chance?”
Read more at: United Nations News
Source: CARICOM TODAY