“The world is not hopeless or helpless,” said Antonio Guteres, UN Secretary General addressing the 76 session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is going on at the UN headquarter putting different global agendas.
Climate change is among the top serious global agendas getting attention during the session where leaders from across the world calling the world to increase collective and unilateral actions to combat the devastating impacts.
“The world has a path to recovery if leaders take action” Guterres told the leaders. The leaders from all corners of the world, developed and developing, argued that our world is at a critical turning point due to climate change and needs urgent and practical actions to halt climate change and its effects. In their speech, the political leaders gave due attention to the warnings and findings of scientist and urged the world to act quickly. Leaders of developed countries promised to enhance their financial pledges to support the international fighting against climate change mainly to help the efforts of developing countries.
During the session, all countries from developed and developing world shared similar concern on climate change without any difference and called the world to apply ambitious actions, both at national and international levels.
Addressing the opening session of the 76th of the UNGA, UN Secretary General António Guterres stated that “the world is changed like never before from climate change to conflicts, COVID-19, which puts the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach.”
According to the recent report by International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world is seeing warning signs in every continent and region, the Secretary General stated. Practically, the world is suffering from increase in temperature, shocking bio-diversity loss, and polluted air and climate related disasters, he added.
Guterres strongly warned that though the world plans to limit emissions to 45 percent by 2030, with present national climate commitments emissions will go-up by 16 percent by 2030. Similarly, he added “the window is repeatedly closing to keep the hit to 1.5 degree Celsius.”
In climate action, the world awaits reaching the target, hence António Guterres said “we must get series and fast” to save the world.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen during his official speech at the UNGA said on his part that the “true dignity and freedom of people lies with their ability to sustain themselves. Poverty and dependence on foreign aid cause political, governance, security, and human development challenges.”
Demeke noted that global-warming is the most alarming driver of poverty. “Agrarian and pastoralist communities and economies like ours with these livelihoods face an existential challenge”, he added.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Demeke the impacts of climate change are destroying arable land and biodiversity thereby disrupting the food system of developing countries and devastating poverty. Production of cash crops suffers from quality and quantity problems due to climate changes, Demeke stated adding “recurrent flood and drought are straining the emergency readiness we have in place”.
The targets under the environment and sustainable development agenda are overdue and can no more be overtaken by events, Demeke underlined. “Hopefully, COP-26 will pave the way for climate financing and support to programs such as the Green Belt and Green Legacy afforestation initiatives that are restoring a long-lost ecosystem, Deputy PM Demeke added.
Addressing the session, The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden argued that the world is facing extreme weather, suffering merciless march of intense fire, hurricanes, devastating floods and longer heat waves due to climate change. It’s time “to meet the threat of challenging climate change, the challenging climate we are failing already, he added.
“In my view,” President Biden said “how we answer these questions in this movement, whether we choose together for our shared future or not, will reverberate with generations yet to come. We are at an inflection point in history.”
To reach the vital goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius, Joe Biden stated, every nation needs to bring their highest possible ambitions to the table in the coming COP session in Glasgow. The commitment and ambition of nations will help to keep race on collective ambition over time, U.S. President stated. The president argued it is the duty of developed countries to support the countries and people that will hit the hardest and have the fewest resources to help them adapt.
Biden reiterated that U.S. is working to double its public international finance to help developing nations to tackle climate crises. As the world is encountering new era of new technologies, it is the responsibility of all to determine whether these technologies are forced to empower people or to deepen repression.
During his address to the UNGA, President of The Peoples Republic of China, Xi Jinping similarly stated that the world is facing impacts of climate changes unseen in the century. The world needs to improve global environmental governance to preserve harmony between man and nature, President Xi added.
“We need to accelerate transition to a green and low-carbon economy to achieve green economy and development,” Chinese President underlined. He promised that “China will cut carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. This requires tremendous hard work and we will make every effort to meet these goals.”
Xi also reiterated during his speech that his country will step-up support for developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy adding China will stop building new coal-fired power projects out of China.
As to President Xi, strong commitment is key to results-oriented actions, it’s time to increase input in development advance on a priority basis cooperation on poverty alleviations, food security and veterans development financing climate change and green development industrialization, digital economy and connectivity.
President Xi stated that the world must strengthen solidarity and promote mutual respect and win-win cooperation including international relations so as to develop joint actions in combating common problems of the world.
The host country of the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP 26) session on climate change, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Boris Johnson on his part stated that living things are suffering from the devastating effects of climate change and man is the responsible creator in affecting the planet. At the same time, the solution is on the hand of human beings whether to limit this devastating effect or not.
According to Prime Minister Johnson “it is time take responsibility for the damage we are inflicting on the planet” and to take measures to control the problem. He argued that it is critical to restore the natural balance, to halt and reverse the loss of trees and biodiversity by 2030 adding to achieve that practical and collective ambitions are necessary.
According to him by making commitments in four areas, coal, cars, cash and trees, the world can possibly tackle climate change. We have the tools for a green industrial revolution but time is desperately short, he underlined.
The tragedy is becoming worse and worse because of our past inaction and there are further rises in temperature, the PM stated, “If we keep on the current track then the temperature will go up by 2.7 degrees by the end of the century.” He strongly noted that it is the time to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees adding, the world must come together collectively and should show the world have the maturity and wisdom to act to reverse the climate change.
The political leaders who have the power to decide shared their concern without any difference about the growing global warming, the fast changes in climate change and the impacts that the world and all living things are experiencing. They explained the problem and the way forward in front of the seven billion people.
As the world needs urgent solution and immediate actions, the people of the world are waiting actions and more decisions by the leaders to halt the problem especially during the COP 26 session.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
ETHIOPIAN HERALD 29 SEPTEMBER 2021
