Alok Sharma, in charge of the Cop26 talks, said that time is running out to mitigate “catastrophe”. The summit is to be held in Glasgow this year in November, and the UK minister is trying to warn the world leaders of the disastrous effects of not complying with the global efforts to stop climate change.
Speaking to the Observer, Sharma said, “I don’t think there’s any other word for it. You see daily what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record.”
The interview was done after the UK minister was globally criticized for travelling 30 countries since February, including those “red-listed”. In addition to the environmental impact of the trips, he was reported not to have isolated himself while travelling.
While he pushed the urgency of climate action with his statement to the Observer, he failed to mention the government’s sanctioning of more fossil fuel projects. “We cannot afford to wait two years, five years, ten years – this is the moment”, Sharma said.
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, said, “the Conservatives had made a terrible mess of international travel since March last year, and it has cost many thousands of lives”. Wilson also asked for a singular rule for the citizens and the leaders.
Sharma also mentioned the IPCC report, which is all set to come out today from the climate science researchers of the United Nations. “This is going to be the starkest warning yet that human behaviour is alarmingly accelerating global warming, and this is why Cop26 has to be the moment we get this right,” he said.
“I don’t think we’re out of time, but I think we’re getting dangerously close to when we might be out of time. We will see [from the IPCC] a very, very clear warning that unless we act now, we will, unfortunately, be out of time.”
He pressed on the importance of the report in understanding why the next decade will decide climate action. “We will also get a pretty clear understanding that human activity is driving climate change at alarming rates,” he said.
“Disaster was not yet inevitable, and actions now could save lives in the future. Every fraction of a degree rise makes a difference, and that’s why countries have to act now”, he added.
Ahead of the climate summit, the Cop26 president has the difficult task of getting global leaders on board to revise the emissions cut to mitigate the catastrophe. He has to convince countries like India, China, Brazil and Russia to commit to the new and revised policies while influencing the UK to stop the fossil fuel projects. Another task is to solicit funding from rich countries such as the US and the EU.
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