“We can’t lose sight of the forest because we’re tussling over individual trees,” said Simon Stiell, urging delegates to wrap up “less contentious issues” as early as possible this week, so there is enough time for the major political decisions.
COP29 opened in the Azerbaijan capital this past Monday with the main goal of reaching agreement on scaling up finance to address the worsening impacts of global warming.
Despite an early breakthrough on standards that will pave the way for a UN-governed carbon market, the talks on climate finance have been slow and contentions, with delegations digging in their heels rather than looking for common ground.
Time for business, not brinkmanship
“Bluffing, brinksmanship, and pre-mediated playbooks” are burning up precious time and running down the goodwill needed for an ambitious package, emphasized Mr. Stiell, who is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes the annual COP meetings.
The stakes are too high for “an outbreak of ‘you-first-ism’…where groups of parties dig in and refuse to move on one issue, until others move elsewhere,” he said and the only way to get the job done is “if Parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground.”
Mr. Stiell’s plea comes after UN Secretary-General António Guterres also voiced concern over the state of negotiations at COP29, noting that countries must agree to an ambitious climate finance goal that meets the scale of the challenge faced by developing countries.
Speaking to reporters in Rio on Sunday ahead of the G20 summit, the UN chief said that “now is the time for leadership by example from the world’s largest economies and emitters. Failure is not an option.”
UN News/Nargiz Shekinskaya
Automatic Ad Middle Of Content
‘No decisions about us without us!’
Beyond the negotiations, other meetings and high-level events at COP29 covered a range of topics – from the climate-health nexus to human development and education.
Children and young people also made their voices heard at several lively and well attended events, as they called for protection from the effects of climate change; measures to prevent further destruction of the planet; and stepped-up efforts to preserve nature.
They urged decision-makers at COP29 to give them a seat at the climate negotiating table and to urgently consider organizing a separate UN climate conference specifically for children.
According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), climate change impacts the well-being of nearly 1 billion children – half of the world’s child population. Air pollution, infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and extreme weather events compromise children’s health, hinder their education, and deprive them of the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.
During heatwaves, young children are at risk of dehydration because their bodies cannot regulate temperature effectively. Floods and droughts impoverish families, leaving children to bear the consequences.
“Floods force school closures in Liberia, and children miss school,” said Juanita Tamba of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, the world’s largest volunteer movement for the empowerment of girls and young women.
“And during the dry season, we have to travel long distances to fetch water, and girls often face violence while trying to get water,” she told UN News.
UNICEF estimates that climate-related disasters cause approximately 40 million children to miss school each year, and the number is rising.