The UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell this Monday addressed the official opening of the Conference of Parties on Climate Change COP29, holding in Baku, Azerbaijan, making a passionate plea for urgent, global cooperation on climate change.
Stiell in his welcome speech described the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the only process to address the rampant climate crisis, and credibly hold one another to account to act on it.
He added that the process is working, stressing that without it, humanity would be headed towards five degrees of global warming.
According to him, the world must not let 1.5 degrees slip out of reach, adding that even as temperatures rise, the implementation of agreements must claw them back.
Stiell went on to say that clean energy and infrastructure investment will reach two trillion dollars in 2024, almost twice that of fossil fuels.
He further stated that the shift to clean energy and climate resilience will not be stopped and the job of stakeholders is to accelerate this and make sure its huge benefits are shared by all countries and all people.
Stiell emphasized that no country is immune to climate catastrophe as every single individual in the world is affected one way or another.
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He expressed frustration that no one single COP can deliver the full transformation that every nation needs but added that COP provides an opportunity for parties to agree on a way out of the mess.
“In these halls, we negotiate on specific pieces of the puzzle each year. We cannot afford to continue up-ending lives and livelihoods in every nation – so let’s make this real.
That’s why we’re here in Baku. We must agree on a new global climate finance goal.
If at least two-thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price.
If nations can’t build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees”
Steill called on the global community to dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity and set an ambitious new climate finance goal in the interest of every single nation, including the largest and wealthiest.
He concluded by acknowledging some historic steps forward taken by parties
in the past few years and urged them not to leave Baku without a substantial outcome.
(Editor: Okechukwu Eze)
