Pay up or face climate-led disaster for humanity, UN chief warns COP29 summit

BAKU (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders at the COP29 summit on Tuesday to “pay up” to prevent climate-led humanitarian disasters, and said time was running out to limit a destructive rise in global temperatures.

Nearly 200 nations have gathered at the annual U.N. climate summit in Baku, focused this year on raising hundreds of billions of dollars to fund a global transition to cleaner energy sources and limit the climate damage caused by carbon emissions.

But on the day of the summit designed to bring together world leaders and generate political momentum for the marathon negotiations, many of the leading players were not present to hear Guterres’ message. 

After victory for Donald Trump, a climate change denier, in the U.S. presidential election, President Joe Biden will not attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a deputy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is not attending because of political developments in Brussels.

“On climate finance, the world must pay up, or humanity will pay the price,” Guterres said in a speech. “The sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and time is not on our side.”

This year is set to be the hottest on record.

Scientists say evidence shows global warming and its impacts are unfolding faster than expected and the world may already have hit 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 F) of warming above the average pre-industrial temperature – a critical threshold beyond which it is at risk of irreversible and extreme climate change.

As COP29 began, unusual east coast U.S. wildfires that triggered air quality warnings for New York continued to grow. In Spain, survivors are coming to terms with the worst floods in the country’s modern history and the Spanish government has announced billions of euros for reconstruction.

‘ECONOMY KILLER’

The summit opened on Monday with a technical deal seen as critical to launching a U.N.-backed global carbon market that would fund billions of dollars of projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

That success was marred by a row over the summit priorities – a procedural tug-of-war that pitched European and small island countries against the Arab group of nations on how prominent the future of fossil fuels should be on the agenda.

The opening procedures were delayed by at least five hours, ending in an eventual compromise reluctantly accepted by the EU and other aligned nations.

At a press conference on Tuesday, COP29 officials sought to refocus attention on the summit’s primary goal – agreeing a deal for up to $1 trillion in annual climate finance for developing countries.

“Enabling every country to take strong climate action is 100% in all countries’ interests, even the largest and wealthiest. Why? Because the climate crisis is fast becoming an economy killer,” said Simon Stiell, head of the UNFCCC climate body that facilitates the summit.  

“Unless all countries can slash emissions deeply, every country and every household will be hammered even harder than they currently are. We’ll be living in a permanent inflationary nightmare.”

This post is originally published on INVESTING.

  • Related Posts

    Goldman sees upside risks for Brent near term

    Investing.com – Brent crude prices have retreated to the low-to-mid $70s a barrel, which reflects market confidence in a large 2025 surplus, according to Goldman Sachs, but the influential investment…

    US Treasury investigates JPMorgan’s client ties to Iranian figure – Bloomberg

    The US Treasury Department is currently investigating JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) for its business dealings with Ocean Leonid Investments Ltd., a hedge fund linked to Iranian oil trader Hossein…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Exclusive: Prop Firm My Forex Funds and the CFTC Are Probably Negotiating a Settlement

    • November 22, 2024
    Exclusive: Prop Firm My Forex Funds and the CFTC Are Probably Negotiating a Settlement

    Goldman sees upside risks for Brent near term

    • November 22, 2024
    Goldman sees upside risks for Brent near term

    US Treasury investigates JPMorgan’s client ties to Iranian figure – Bloomberg

    • November 22, 2024
    US Treasury investigates JPMorgan’s client ties to Iranian figure – Bloomberg

    XAUUSD: Elliott Wave Analysis and Forecast for 22.11.24 – 29.11.24

    • November 22, 2024
    XAUUSD: Elliott Wave Analysis and Forecast for 22.11.24 – 29.11.24

    Saxo and novobanco Collaborate to Drive Digital Investment Access in Portugal

    • November 22, 2024
    Saxo and novobanco Collaborate to Drive Digital Investment Access in Portugal

    COP29 climate summit draft proposes rich countries pay $250 billion per year

    • November 22, 2024
    COP29 climate summit draft proposes rich countries pay $250 billion per year