‘Climate change work not enough’

THE mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (above) criticised global policymakers last Thursday (20) for “dragging their feet” on environmental policy, amid fears that momentum to tackle climate change has stalled.

A report last week said the latest pledges by countries to tackle global warming under the Paris Agreement were “woefully inadequate” to avert a rise in global temperatures that scientists say will worsen droughts, storms, and floods.

Khan, who was speaking at the C40 World Mayors climate summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, said policymakers could “keep alive” a target under the 2015 agreement to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5ºC (2.7F), but that current action was not enough.

“There’s no good reason why the international community can’t keep the promise of 1.5C alive,” he said, pointing to action in cities from Mumbai in India to Lagos, Nigeria, including climate budgeting, low-carbon building standards, and use of solar power.

“And yet this crucial target hangs in the balance because, for all the progress our cities are making, too many national governments are dragging their feet, refusing to commit to the policies, to the regulations, and clean energy investment we know we need to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown.”

Global leaders are set to meet next month in Egypt at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), with concerns over fuel security and costs exacerbated by the war in Ukraine overriding climate goals.

Meanwhile, the report last Wednesday (19) from the global nonprofit research group World Resources Institute found current global plans to fight climate change, known as nationally determined contributions, would fall well short of Paris Agreement targets.

“The climate emergency isn’t an issue of tomorrow. It is right here today on our doorstep,” Khan said.