The countries most vulnerable to climate change have released a manifesto ahead of the COP26 summit, calling for an ‘emergency pact’ to tackle rising global temperatures.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), which consists of countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Caribbean, and Latin America, said progress on limiting the impacts of global warming has stalled.
It wants all countries to agree to a ‘climate emergency pact’ at the upcoming summit in Glasgow to protect those most vulnerable.
The pact would involve every country putting forward a new climate plan every year between now and 2025.
Signatories of the Paris climate agreement are only currently required to have a new plan every five years.
It came as a global network of more than 1,500 climate non-government organisations called on Britain to postpone the upcoming COP26 summit, saying that a lack of COVID-19 vaccines risked sidelining developing countries.
An increase in cases, unequal global vaccine rollout, and stringent quarantine requirements for more than 60 "red list" nations or territories hoping to attend the 12-day UN talks mean that "a safe, inclusive and just global climate conference is impossible," the Climate Action Network (CAN) said in a statement.
"Our concern is that those countries most deeply affected by the climate crisis - and suffering from the lack of support by rich nations in providing vaccines - will be left out," said Tasneem Essop, CAN's Executive Director.
"There has always been an inherent power imbalance within the UN climate talks and this is now compounded by the health crisis."
But the United Nations rejected the call to delay the summit.
People demonstrate on the sidelines of a G20 environment meeting, in Naples, Italy, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Source: AP
"For now, no changes are planned, but we understand the concerns," UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Host government Britain also pushed back, saying the climate crisis was too urgent for the meeting to be put off.
The CVF said the event is critical and must be conducted in person as planned from October, calling for “special support” and "facilitated access" to ensure inclusive participation.
“This is the most important meeting for the future of the planet and it cannot wait,” it said.
Recent research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that at the current rate of carbon emissions, the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius in warming will be passed in little over a decade.
The northern hemisphere has been battered over the last three months by record-breaking extreme weather made worse by global warming, according to scientists.
Deadly heatwaves in parts of North America and Europe; unprecedented flooding across western Europe, China and the United States; uncontrolled wildfires around the Mediterranean basin and in California - all were made more intense or likely by global warming.
CAN said the call to postpone COP26 should not be construed as a boycott.
"We will continue our work to push political leaders to deliver ambitious national climate targets, fulfill their responsibilities on climate finance, and phase out fossil fuels," it said.
With AFP
