GLASGOW, Scotland – Countries must urgently unite to find political consensus on issues such as pledging money from rich countries to poor countries to tackle climate change or adapt to climate shocks, says Alok Sharma, who chairs the two-week climate talks. in Glasgow.
“We only have a few days left,” he said.
Sharma said the commitments made by the countries in the first week of negotiations narrowed the gap, but they weren’t enough. He said that countries must now begin to deliver on those promises immediately.
He said that with these commitments, the world is bending the curve to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius. “But, of course, this is not enough,” he said, reiterating that the purpose of these negotiations was to try to ensure that the warming was below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Archie Young, the lead negotiator for the United Kingdom, said there were three main areas of disagreement during the negotiations: how to help countries with the losses they are suffering from climate change, and how countries will progress towards achieving their own climate goals. the tracking and support that poor countries need to become more transparent.
But Sharma argued that there remains “an opportunity to succeed,” adding that the transition to a zero-carbon economy is not only a technological feasibility. “It’s economically attractive and it’s accelerating everywhere. And if we succeed, we will bring enormous benefits to the world. “
