War should not deter climate goals, Kerry tells WEF
The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering is resuming for a second day, with business leaders, government officials, representatives from global institutions and journalists gearing up for more panel talks and networking at the exclusive meeting in the Swiss Alps.
US climate envoy John Kerry on Tuesday said at the gathering that Russia’s war in Ukraine shouldn’t deter climate goals. Speaking at a news conference about speeding up the road to “net zero”, Kerry says “we should not allow a false narrative to be created” that the war “somehow obviates the need to move forward and address the climate crisis”.
He says it’s possible to both meet the need of increased energy from fossil fuels in the short term, particularly in Europe, and stay on course to reduce emissions over the coming years. Meanwhile, the head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change says the next climate change summit in Egypt in November will be a “pivotal moment” for the planet.
Patricia Espinosa Cantellano says negotiations are over and implementation is starting as an investment in “a better future for all”. She says governments now need to assess how they can attract the right investments for energy transition.
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday said he sees no possibility for neighbouring Ukraine to accept any peace terms dictated by Moscow or to consent to give any of its territory to Russia.
Duda spoke during a geopolitical outlook panel at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.
He says “the mere drive to take revenge and regain what’s theirs is so powerful that I don’t believe that they (Ukrainians) could agree to peace terms that would boil down to the Russians taking again kilometers of Ukrainian land.”
He says the Russians have destroyed so much of Ukraine and the Ukrainians have spilled so much blood defending their country that any politician in Ukraine who would suggest bending to Russia’s demands “would simply be finished”.
Duda says any politician in the West who believes he can persuade Kyiv to accept any of Moscow’s terms is “deeply mistaken”.