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Three years ago, in 2015, countries voluntarily pledged to limit global warming under the Paris Agreement. Now, at COP 24 in Poland, the challenge was how to achieve their own climate goals. There were 13 days of meetings and intense negotiations until a final document was obtained on Saturday (15). But the "regulation" and the guidelines have been criticized: environmentalists believe that it lacks ambition to respect the agreement, due to the opposition of countries such as the United States. Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia and Kuwait.
Opposition and Limitations
The main objective of COP24 was to close the "settlement" of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, in which 195 countries pledged to limit global warming by nearly 2 ° C by the end of the century, striving to maintain the temperature at a temperature not exceeding 1.5 ° C.
However, one could doubt the influence that 39, a report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in October would have on the negotiations. The organization stressed that the ideal was that the temperature does not exceed 1.5 ° C during this period. Even this increase, according to experts, would pose an increased risk of hunger in the world, especially in the poorest regions.
But countries did not agree to "accept" this report, because of the opposition of a group of nations led by the United States and the United States. Saudi Arabia, which excluded recognition of this conclusion from the document.
Finally, in the regulations, they merely "invite the parties to use the information contained in the report". Nor have they entered the debate to increase their voluntary emissions reduction targets by 2015, merely "striving to meet their ambitions by 2020".
Monitoring commitments
More than 160 countries have already presented their emission reduction targets, others must do so by 2020. The objectives for each of them should be updated every five years. [19659011] COP24 has defined the rules for verifying that these objectives are achieved by 2024, in accordance with the IPCC guidelines in this regard. Every two years, countries will submit a report detailing their climate actions, which will be evaluated by experts but without the possibility of sanctions.
Every five years, starting in 2023, countries will take stock of their collective efforts to achieve the goal of limiting global temperature.
In all these cases, there will be flexibility in relation to the least developed countries and island States, depending on their capabilities.
The Paris Agreement provides that developed countries should help developing countries reduce their emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change. COP24 stressed the need for this funding to be "predictable" and urged rich countries to report on these resources every two years, starting in 2020.
The poorest countries waited in vain for action strong implying the promises of rich countries to help 100 billion dollars a year (about 392 billion rand) from 2020. Some announcements have however been announced, such as 1.5 billion dollars (5.9 billion of dollars). ) from Germany and 500 million from Norway.
The World Bank also announced at the beginning of the talks the release of $ 200 billion to help countries take "ambitious measures for climate change".
The Paris Agreement recognizes "the need to avoid loss and damage" related to the current impacts of climate change, a concern for the United States, which fears that this will not happen. paves the way for legal proceedings seeking redress.
Finally, this term was isolated in the agreement, but without being subject to any kind of funding, as the vulnerable countries wanted.
In the midst of the popular revolt of "yellow vests" in France, many COP24 participants had argued that the ecological transition should be accompanied by social measures for all citizens.
But the conference simply took note of the statement of Poland, which recognizes the need to take into account this "just transition" for workers affected by the growing abandonment of fossil fuels.
Comments by environmentalists and leaders
Activists at COP 24 in Katowice – Photo: AP Photo / AP Photo / Alik Keplicz
For the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the meeting in Poland revealed "a fundamental lack of understanding" of the current crisis the planet by some countries.
"Science has made it clear that we have only 12 years to halve our emissions, and we need countries to commit to increasing their ambitions by 2020," Manuel said. Pulgar-Vidal, spokesman of the fund.
"Fortunately, the Paris Agreement is weathering the storms of global geopolitics, so we now need all countries to commit to strengthening the climate ambition of 2020, because it is the only way forward. everyone's future is at stake. " Manuel Pulgar – WWF
Greenpeace noted that the Katowice Agreement represented little "compared to the need for more ambitious and urgent action, especially after the obvious evidence demonstrated by the scientific community".
The environmental organization has questioned the "lack of leadership of the (Polish) presidency", the negotiations finally to be "saved" by the UN negotiators.
"There has been a surprising lack of response to the IPCC report: countries can not meet to say that they can not do more!", Criticized Jennifer Morgan of Greenpeace International.
The coalition for climate justice, more critical still, was more critical Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old Swedish teenager who, at COP24, addressed delegates, saying that "the the suffering of many will pay the luxury of a few ", and lamented that this message serves to summarize the results obtained.
Antonio Zambrano, coordinator of the Citizen Movement for Clean Energy, said that in Katowice, the interests of rich countries, "who ignore their moral and legal obligations, will force poor countries to fend for themselves effects of climate change, climate change ".
"They will have to do more and be more concrete in convincing developing countries that their efforts for ecological transition will be supported," said David Levai of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). ).
"Most of the Paris Agreement regulations have been created, which is a reason to be grateful, but the fact that countries have to be dragged and shouted at the line of action. arrival shows that some countries have not woken up for the urgent call of the IPCC report, "said Mohamed Adow, international climate leader at Christian Aid.
The WWF-Brazil coordinator for climate change and energy, André Nahur, stressed the importance that the country must achieve the grand objective of the Paris Agreement and the direct benefits it can provide.
"Brazil has everything to become a leader in this new low-carbon market, which already exists, and with the natural resources that our country has, we can take advantage of this agenda and generate economic and social benefits for the entire population, the entrepreneur, who can invest in these areas, even for the general population, which will result in a new job offer and a better quality of life, "he said.
"Under the current circumstances, the continued construction of our building is already a success, even the most reluctant are there," said Teresa Ribera, Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition, one of the main figures of negotiation.
The fact that countries have not committed to raising their national targets for reducing greenhouse gases set in 2015, although the IPCC report warns that they will not prevent temperature to reach 3 ° C, Teresa criticized the lack of ambition. "There are missing messages that confirm a greater desire for ambition," he acknowledged.
"The road has been long, the task has not been easy.The impact of this package is positive for the world," said COP24 President Pole Michal Kurtyka .
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