By Arul Louis*
UNITED NATIONS. 20 September 2023 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued the grim warning, “Humanity has opened the gates of hell”, as he pitched the Climate Solidarity Pact for industrialized that have benefitted the most by using fossil fuels to cut emissions and support emerging economies to reach climate change goals.
Speaking at the Climate Change Ambition Summit on 20 September, he said that “the scale of the challenge dwarfs climate action” and “if nothing changes, we are heading towards a 2.8°C [Celsius] temperature rise—towards a dangerous and unstable world”.
“But the future is not fixed”, he said. “We can still limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C [Celsius] degrees. We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs, and affordable clean power for all”.
He said, “The proposed Climate Solidarity Pact calls on major emitters – who have benefitted most from fossil fuels—to make extra efforts to cut emissions and on wealthy countries to support emerging economies to do so”.
Guterres also proposed an Acceleration Agenda to turbocharge climate action for developed countries to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions as close as possible to 2040 and emerging economies by 2050.
The agenda considers the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which considers the levels of past emissions by countries and economic development.
The Agenda “urges countries to implement a fair, equitable and just energy transition, while providing affordable electricity to all”.
He said it would ensure credible plans for the developed countries to stop using coal by 2030 and for the other countries by 2040.
He called for ending fossil fuel subsidies.
He proposed a financial system that would put a price on carbon and change the business plans of international financial institutions to leverage far more private finance at a reasonable cost to developing countries. [IDN-InDepthNews]
*Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis
Image: UN Chief Guterres speaking on 20 September about the impact of impending climate catastrophe. Credit: United Nations
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