UN Climate head Simon Stiell said it’s clear that the second half of humanity’s climate journey will be even harder, and climate action will need to move at a faster pace
The world is headed for 2.7 degree C warming and the road to keep it to 1.5 degree C is extremely steep, UN Climate head Simon Stiell warned in his opening remark at the Bonn Climate Change Conference in Germany on Monday.
“Without UN-convened international cooperation, we would be headed for up to 5 degrees of global heating, which most of humanity likely couldn’t survive. We are now headed for around 2.7 degrees. This is still ruinously high, and there’s a long and steep road ahead to get to our shared goal of 1.5 this century, but we should be energised that we are approaching a halfway point,” Stiell said.
The Bonn meeting from June 3 to 13 is known as halfway to the annual climate summit, also known as the 29th Conference of Parties, or COP29. It is expected to set the agenda for climate negotiations this year and will open discussions on a new finance goal to replace the existing goal of $100 billion per year. The new finance goal is meant to channel greater funds toward urgently needed climate action in developing countries.
Stiell said, “It’s clear that the second half of humanity’s climate journey will be even harder, and climate action will need to move at a faster pace. So, we cannot afford rest-stops or detours in this half-way point in humanity’s climate journey. And we absolutely cannot afford to stumble in the next ten days, or for global climate progress to stall this year and beyond. This requires trust and respect for each other. Full adherence to the code of conduct is essential, with no exceptions. Respectful disagreements are part of this process, but they must not be its defining feature or its outcome.”
Finance goal important for developing countries
HT has reported earlier that NCQG discussions are contentious because of opposing views of developed and developing countries on the matter.
HT reported on May 6 that in an Ad Hoc Work Programme (AHWP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Cartagena in Colombia from April 23 to 26, the US is reported to have said the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is “voluntary” for those that “choose to pay”, referring to Article 9.3 of the 2015 Paris climate pact that deals with climate finance. Developing countries opposed this and pointed out that the Paris Agreement stipulates that wealthy nations shall provide financial resources to assist developing countries to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate crisis.
“First, we must make serious progress on finance — the great enabler of climate action. Here in Bonn, I urge you to move from zero-draft to real options for a new collective quantified goal on climate finance. We cannot afford to reach Baku with too much work still to do. So, please, make every hour here count. We need more climate finance while we negotiate a future goal. Progress on one, enables the other,” Stiell said on Monday.
“New grant and highly forms of concessional finance to developing countries must be coupled with global financial reforms that deliver debt relief and affordable finance, and finding new and innovative sources of finance, outside our process,” he added.
On Nationally Determined Contributions or country strategies, Stiell called for a new round of plans that are 1.5 degree C compatible.
“This new round of national climate plans – NDCs 3.0 – will be among the most important policy documents produced so far this century. NDCs are not just about averting disaster through reducing emissions. Done well, they can serve as powerful blueprints, to propel each of your economies and societies forward, and drive more resilience, more opportunity, better human health and higher living standards,” he added.