Baku (TDI): Describing this year as masterclass in human destruction, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Tuesday called for increased contributions to a financial mechanism assisting developing countries, warning humanity will pay the price if the climate change if not addressed.
He was addressing around 200 world leaders and high-ranking officials gathered for the COP29 UN climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
However, as media reports suggested, several key world leader s had not turned up for the summit.
In an era of climate extremes, loss and damage finance is a must, the UN Chief said and urged governments to deliver, while noticing that the world is not yet much serious about the situation.
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According to a statement issued by the UN headquarters, he stated that the world is getting hotter and more dangerous, which is not a matter for debate, and climate disasters are piling up – harming those who done the least, the most, he said.
Meanwhile, those that contribute more to the destruction – particularly the fossil fuel industry – continue to reap massive profits and subsidies, he added.
The UN Chief described the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund as a victory for developing countries, for multilateralism, and for justice, but noted that its initial capitalization of $700 million doesn’t come close to righting the wrong inflicted on the vulnerable.
In fact, this figure is roughly the annual earnings of the world 10 best-paid footballers, he said, and does not even account for a quarter of the damage caused in Vietnam by Hurricane Yagi in September.
We must get serious about the level of finance required, he said. urge countries to commit new finance to the Fund. And to write cheques to match.
As bilateral flows alone wont suffice, he called for new responses, and new sources, to meet the scale of need.
He urged countries to agree a new climate finance goal that taps innovative resources.
“We need to implement solidarity levies on sectors such as shipping, aviation, and fossil fuel extraction – to help fund climatte action. We need a fair price on carbon,” the UN chief said.
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And, more broadly, “we also need to support Multilateral Development Banks in order to increase the lending capacity so they are fit to respond to the climate crisis.”
In a new report presented at COP29 on Tuesday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said climate change has become a growing threat to people already fleeing war, violence and persecution.
The report ‘No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate, Conflict and Displacement calls on governments to take stronger action to slash greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming and climate change.
