The annual G20 summit of leaders from the largest and fastest-growing economies got underway in Osaka, Japan, against a backdrop of what UN Secretary-General António Guterres described as “a moment of high political tension”.
“We have global warming, but we have also global political warming, and this can be seen in relation to trade and technology conflicts, it can be seen in relation to situations in several parts of the world, namely the Gulf”, he told reporters before addressing the summit, referring to recent attacks on oil tankers around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, which have heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.
The Secretary-General spotlighted the urgency of addressing climate change as a main priority.
Painting a picture of “heat waves in Europe, drought in Africa, storms happening also in Africa and the Caribbean” and a “multiplication” more intense, more frequent natural disasters “with worsening humanitarian consequences” he repeated his passionate refrain that “climate change is running faster than what we are”.
“All the analyses that can be made show the situation, in practical terms, is worse than what we could have forecasted, and the political will has been failing”, he said, calling it “a paradox that needs to be addressed”.
He spoke about the UN’s September Climate Action Summit in New York where he will appeal to world leaders for a stronger commitment for climate action, including by “putting a price on carbon, ending subsidies to fossil fuels, [and] not accepting the idea that we still have an acceleration of the construction of coal power plants”, all of which are “absolutely essential to rescue the planet”.
Mr. Guterres also highlighted that G20 nations represent 80 percent of climate change emissions and appealed for a stronger commitment to international financial and economic cooperation.
Original source: UN News
Published on 28 June 2019
