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A child holds a placard during the Fridays for Future march during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.File photo | Photo credit: Reuters
Climate change is a global issue that all countries must work together. So today, over 30 newspapers and media outlets in over 20 countries share a common view of what needs to be done. . Time is running out. Rather than move away from fossil fuels and into clean energy, many rich countries are reinvesting in oil and gas, failing to cut emissions fast enough, and are ready to send poor countries the aid they are ready to send. are fighting over All of this while the Earth is rushing towards the point of no return: climate chaos becoming irreversible.
Since the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow 12 months ago, countries have pledged only 1/50th of what it takes to stay on track to keep temperatures within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels. I have not. From floods in Pakistan to heatwaves in Europe, bushfires in Australia to hurricanes in the United States, no continent has escaped extreme weather disasters this year. Given that these arose from rising temperatures, about 1.1Cthe world is expected to be even worse.
The world is experiencing a “gold rush” of new fossil fuel projects as many countries seek to reduce their dependence on Russia. These are cast as temporary means of supply, but risk trapping the planet in irreparable damage. If renewable energy were the norm, there would be no climate emergency.
The world’s poorest people will bear the brunt of destruction from drought, melting ice sheets and crop failures. Money is needed to protect these groups from loss of life and livelihood. According to one influential report, developing countries need $2 trillion a year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
Wealthy countries today account for only 1 in 8 people in the world, yet they emit half of the greenhouse gases. These countries have a clear moral obligation to help. Especially with a global recession looming, developing countries should be given enough cash to cope with the perilous conditions they could scarcely create.
Rich countries need to show seriousness by delivering on previously committed financial commitments, such as $100 billion annually from 2020. At a minimum, a windfall tax (estimated at nearly $100 billion in the first three months of this year) on the combined profits of the largest oil and gas companies should be enacted. The UN was right to call for cash to be used to help the most vulnerable. But such taxation is only the beginning. Poor countries also carry debts that make it impossible to recover from climate-related disasters or protect themselves from future disasters. Creditors need to generously write off loans to those on the front lines of the climate emergency.
These measures need not wait for coordinated international action. Countries can implement them at the regional or national level. A nation’s cumulative emissions must be the basis for its responsibility to act. Private funding can help, but the blame lies with the big emitters of the past.
Solving crises is the moonshot of our time. Reaching the moon was successful within 10 years due to the huge amount of resources put into it. A similar commitment is needed now. However, the economic crisis has reduced consumer confidence in wealthy countries, and there is a danger that the planet will fall into dependence on fossil fuels due to the rearguard behavior of large corporations. But during the pandemic, central banks around the world enriched national spending by buying their own government bonds. The trillions of dollars needed to address the ecological emergency require a revival of such radical thinking.
Now is not the time for indifference or complacency. The urgency of the moment is upon us. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must be about the power of the debate, not the power debate. The key to maintaining consensus in Egypt is to ensure that disputes over trade and war in Ukraine do not hamper global climate diplomacy. The United Nations process may not be perfect. However, it offers nations a goal to save the planet, and must be pursued at Cop27 to avoid risks to the survival of humanity.
List of media partners
Camunda News, Angola
Canadian National Observer
Colombia, El Espectador
Politiken, Denmark
Liberation, France
Mediapart, France
Efimerida Tong Synthacton, Greece
Kasmerini, Greece
Protagon, Greece
Telex, Hungary
Hindu, Indian
tempo, indonesia
Irish Examiner, Ireland
Irish Independent, Ireland
Haaretz, Israel
La Repubblica, Italy
Greener, Jamaica
Makaranga, Malaysia
Reforma, Mexico
Nigeria Journalism Innovation & Development Center
Lapla, Philippines
Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
Publico, Portugal
Mail & Guardian, South Africa
elDiario.es, Spain
El Pais, Spain
T&T Guardian, Trinidad and Tobago
Daily Mirror, UK
Guardian, UK
USA Covering Climate Change
Miami Herald, United States
Nation, United States
Rolling Stone, United States
International Environmental Reporting Organization
Pacific Environmental Weekly, Pacific.
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