Business: In the United Nations Climate Talks (COP30) that started in the Amazon region of Brazil, global leaders have appealed for speed, cooperation and concrete steps to deal with climate change. The world has been working towards reducing carbon emissions for the last three decades, but now the need to speed up this process has been emphasized.
Countries need to work together
Andre Correa do Lago, president of this year’s conference, said all countries should work together in the spirit of Mutirao. It is a Brazilian word, derived from a tribal language and meaning collective effort for a shared task.
In a letter to delegates before the talks, Lago said that either we decide to change, of our own free will, together, or a tragedy will be imposed on us. we can change. But we have to do all this together.
America is complicating this solidarity
America is further complicating this call for unity. The Trump administration has not sent high-level negotiators to the talks. Once again the process of exiting the Paris Agreement has been started. This is the same agreement which is being celebrated here as a partial success.
America responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions
America has by far been the country responsible for the highest carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal, oil and gas in the world. Although China is currently the biggest polluter, scientists say carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for centuries, so the US emissions impact is still heavier than historically.
The current geopolitical environment is extremely challenging
Ilana Sid, Palau’s ambassador and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, said the current geopolitical environment is extremely challenging. America’s exit from the Paris Agreement shakes the balance of the entire negotiation process. Small island nations are suffering the most severe impacts of climate change, with rising sea levels swallowing up their land.
Climate talks compared to a dinner party
Former US climate envoy Todd Stern criticized the Trump administration, saying it was a good thing that they did not send any representative. Even if sent, it would not have any positive effect.
Katherine Hayhoe, chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, compared the current climate talks to a dinner party. He said that every country comes with its own share i.e. with its own new and stronger climate targets. But it is clear who has brought a pie made from fresh fruit and who has brought year-old chicken nuggets kept in the freezer. He said that this time America as a country has come empty handed, although many of its cities, states and companies will try to fulfill this deficiency.
Emphasis on giving new pace to the world through Amazon
Meanwhile, UN climate chief Simon Steele said in his letter released on Sunday night that the Paris Agreement is showing some effect, but we have to give a new pace to the world through Amazon. They warned that the devastating effects of the climate crisis are already visible, with Hurricane Melissa’s devastation in the Caribbean, super typhoons in Vietnam and the Philippines, and tornadoes in southern Brazil being the latest examples. Steele said countries will not only need to act fast, but also connect climate action to people’s everyday lives.
