World leaders gathered today in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the annual United Nations conference on climate change. However, key leaders from major countries are notably absent from the conference, including those from 13 countries that are considered the largest polluters, responsible for over 70% of the greenhouse gases that cause the greenhouse effect.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a call for “climate justice” on Tuesday during his participation in the climate conference held this year in Azerbaijan.
He stated that taking action on climate change should not be up for negotiation and that time is running out for decisions to be made on this issue.
“You must do more to protect your people from the disasters of climate crises. The most vulnerable are being left behind in the face of extreme weather. The gap between adaptation needs and funding could reach $359 billion a year by 2030. These figures are not abstract numbers, but lost lives, lost production, and denied development,” Guterres said.
At this annual conference in Baku, officials are negotiating how wealthy countries can fund efforts to help poorer nations reduce pollution by shifting away from fossil fuel use to clean energy, offering compensation for climate disasters, and preparing for extreme weather events.
However, China and the United States, the largest polluters and the most powerful economies, are not represented by their top leaders at the conference. Neither are the leaders of India and Indonesia, two of the world’s most populous countries, present in Baku.
This absence of key leaders is being interpreted by some climate change activists as a lack of political will to take action.
“It’s symptomatic of a lack of political will to act. There is no sense of urgency,” says Bill Hare, a climate scientist and director of Climate Analytics. According to him, this is why “we are facing such chaos.”
National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi assured participants that the United States would honor its climate commitments despite the re-election of President Donald Trump, who remains skeptical about climate change.
During his first term, Trump rolled back many environmental regulations, and during his campaign, he promised that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement and increase the extraction and production of fuels.
“We have long known that climate crises and their impacts do not recognize geographical boundaries or political leanings. What we have done over the past four years is ensure that the geography of climate solutions includes everyone, no matter where they live,” Zaidi said.
He also stated that most of the green energy technologies are produced in states led by Republican governors, who will not shut down programs that provide jobs.
UN officials hope that countries will reach an agreement on financing initiatives to help developing countries shift from fossil fuel dependence to clean energy and address the consequences of climate change. Such an agreement would require funding ranging from $100 billion to $1 trillion per year.
