World leaders gather to strengthen Paris Climate Agreement
World leaders gathered in New York on Wednesday to try to breathe new life into the Paris global climate accord, amid backsliding from several nations over commitments made in the historic deal.
The “One Planet Summit,” launched last year by French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to accelerate the implementation of the 2015 pact.
“We are not here just to speak, but to be accountable,” Mr Macron said.
Having last year warned that “we are losing the battle” against climate change, Mr Macron called on countries to massively increase funding for climate action. Despite a stream of announcements and summits - including in Bonn in May, and Bangkok and San Francisco this month - the front line in the climate war has hardly moved, and much of the hope and goodwill brought by the Paris deal has been replaced with passivity. US President Donald Trump in June 2017 announced the US would pull out, effective from November 2020, and momentum from several other countries has stalled. Mr Trump has abandoned targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, set by his predecessor Barack Obama, by slashing dozens of environmental regulations.
Australia, one of the world’s worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, has scrapped plans to enshrine targets for reducing carbon emissions into law.
In Brazil, right-wing presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro has said he would pull the country from the deal if he is elected. The Paris agreement also stipulated that rich countries establish an annual US$100-billion (FJ$ 212.6bn) fund to help developing nations react to our heating planet.
But only US$10bn (FJ$ 21.2bn) has been collected so far. The United States had promised US$3bn (FJ$ 6.3bn) and only gave US$1bn (FJ$2.1bn) - under Obama.
‘Very challenging’
The next UN negotiating summit, COP24, will take place in December in Poland. Preparatory meetings ended in deadlock.
“It looks very challenging,” Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of UN Climate Change said. “We do not yet have certainty that we will be able to make it a success, but it’s not impossible either.”
Fewer leaders participated in this year’s One Planet Summit, organized with the World Bank and the UN. About 30 presidents, prime ministers and ministers are due to attend, including from Spain, Denmark, Norway, China, as well as from small Pacific island nations whose coastlines are getting eaten by a rising ocean.
“Time is not our friend,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“We should not have the ability to opt out of action either.”