Act quickly, UN chief tells divided negotiators as COP27 nears end
NITED Nations Chief Ant nio uterres said negotiations at a global climate conference being held in Egypt are at crunch time on Thursday, a day before the scheduled conclusion of the meeting.
arties at the conference, known as CO 2 , remain divided on a number of key issues, according to uterres, who urged them to act quickly as the climate clock is ticking.
He cited a breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies. This is no time for finger pointing, he said. The world is watching and there is a simple message Stand and deliver. A contentious issue at the centre of the CO 2 conference is the payment of reparations for damage caused by climate change in poor regions.
Delegates of the conference have already agreed to place the issue, known as loss and damage funding, on the agenda for the first time.
Developing countries have long pressed for the creation of a financial mechanism to address climate-induced harm in low-income countries. uterres said on Thursday an ambitious and credible agreement on loss damage and financial support to developing countries holds the key to rebuilding trust.
The time for talking on loss and damage finance is over. We need action, he said in a press statement at the CO 2 venue.
Negotiators from around 200 countries have been gathering in Egypt’s coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for nearly two weeks, grappling with the question of how global warming can be contained and how climate damage can be financed.
Another key divisive issue at the conference is the use of climate-harming fuel fossils.
Russia’s invasion of kraine has sent energy prices soaring, prompting many nations to reconsider their energy policies and reactivate coal-fired power plants.
Fossil fuel expansion is hijacking humanity, said uterres.
Fossil fuels - mainly coal, crude oil and gas - produce large amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the CO 2 president, on Thursday mentioned a lack of progress on several issues.
On loss and damage, Shoukry said, as he joined uterres arties are shying away from taking difficult political decisions. He called on all parties to go the extra mile. A deal on phasing out fossil fuels appeared on Thursday to be far from attainable.
There have been increasing calls to phase out the use of fossil fuels if the battle against climate change is to gain ground.
However, a new version of a draft final declaration for the climate conference has dampened expectations for a substantive agreement on the phase-out The 20-page draft, among other things, encouraged efforts to phase down the unabated use of coal, and rationali ed fossil fuel subsidies.
The document did not mention oil and gas, an omission that has disappointed environmentalists.
It would be absolutely unacceptable if, at the end of a two-week climate conference in the middle of climate collapse, the results from the previous year were repeated at most, said executive director of reenpeace ermany, Martin aiser.
He called for pressure to be stepped up to ensure that the CO 2 final document would include the phase-out of oil and gas.