UNFCCC/Kiara Worth | UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers remarks at the opening of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
‘Pay up or humanity will pay the price’, Guterres warns at COP29 climate summit
United Nations | November 12, 2024
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that leaders gathered in Baku for the COP29 Climate Action Summit must take immediate steps to cut emissions, safeguard people from climate chaos, and “tear down the walls to climate finance” in response to the “masterclass in climate destruction” that the world has witnessed in 2024.
“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,” he warned.
In his opening remarks to the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, the ministerial-level segment of COP29, which officially opened on Tuesday in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku, Mr. Guterres pointed to the proof, noting that 2024 is almost certain to be the hottest year ever recorded.
Meanwhile, “no country is spared” from climate destruction ranging from hurricanes to boiling seas, drought ravaged crops, and more, all being supercharged by human-made climate change.
‘Avoidable injustice’
‘Reason to hope’
Three focus priorities
With all this in mind, Mr. Guterres said, “developing countries must not leave Baku empty-handed” and urged world leaders at COP29 to focus on three areas for immediate action:
Tear down the walls to climate finance by agreeing a new finance goal that contains a significant increase in concessional public finance; a clear indication of how public finance will mobilise the trillions of dollars developing countries need; taps innovative sources; sets out a framework for greater accessibility, transparency, and accountability; and boosts lending capacity for bigger and bolder multilateral development banks.
‘Pay up or pay the price’
“On climate finance, the world must pay up, or humanity will pay the price,” emphasized the UN chief telling world leaders that “you and your governments must be guided by a clear truth: Climate finance is not charity, it’s an investment; climate action is not optional, it’s imperative.”
‘Strong standards’ agreed for centralised carbon market
There was progress late on Monday at COP29 when parties adopted strong new standards for a centralised carbon market under the auspices of the UN, a mechanism highlighted just last week by UN Trade and Development body UNCTAD.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said the agreement was “a good start” following 10 years of negotiations.
“When operational, these carbon markets will help countries implement their climate plans faster and cheaper, driving down emissions,” he said, adding that “we are a long way from halving emissions this decade, but wins on carbon markets here at COP29 will help us get back in that race.”
The UNFCCC chief said it was essential to ensure that developing countries benefit from the new financial flows unlocked through the UN carbon market, where credits will be bought and sold to boost development.
‘Climate finance is global inflation insurance’
In his remarks to the leaders’ summit, UN climate chief Simon Stiell echoed many of the same themes, warning that the climate crisis is fast becoming an economy-killer.
“Climate impacts are carving up to 5 per cent off GDP in many countries,” underscoring that the climate crisis is a cost-of-living crisis because climate-driven disasters are driving up costs for households and businesses.
“Worsening climate impacts will put inflation on steroids unless every country can take bolder climate action,” said Mr. Stiell, who is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes the annual COP meetings. He urged the leaders to learn the lessons from the pandemic – when billions suffered because collective action wasn’t taken fast enough when supply chains were smashed. “Let’s not make that mistake again. Climate finance is global inflation insurance. Rampant climate costs should be public enemy number one,” he stated. He went on to stress that bolder climate action can drive economic opportunity and abundance everywhere. Cheap, clean energy can be the bedrock many economies. It means more jobs, more growth, less pollution choking cities, healthier citizens and stronger businesses. “Billions of people simply cannot afford for their government to leave COP29 without a global climate finance goal,” Mr. Stiell said told leaders to make it clear that they expected a strong set of outcomes in Baku.
“Tell your negotiators – skip the posturing – and move directly to finding common ground. Bring those positions together.”
The original article appeared here.