Over 1,000 government ministers, business leaders, and energy experts attended a crucial climate change conference in the UAE over the last two days.
The Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting intends to underscore the critical dangers presented by the threat of global warming and forms the timetable for an emergency UN summit this September in New York.
However, are you interested about what actually occurred and what lies in the path ahead?
Well, level of sea is rising, corals dying, ecosystems collapsing and waves of extreme weather destroying the world. Only last weekend, France experienced its highest recorded temperature of 45.8°C. Hence, the Abu Dhabi event intended to raise attempts to enforce the 2015 Paris climate accord and tackle these worrying trends.
The meeting held in Abu Dhabi was not a negotiation or deal-making assignment. Those attending the event sketched what could be possibly done to curb emissions in various sectors such as energy, transport and industry.
Delegates spoke intensely about the challenges of funding the battle against climate change, especially in assisting poorer nations to lessen its impacts.
By 2020, the UN wants $100 billion (Dh367.3bn) a year, donated by public and private sources, to finance the fight in developing nations. The event noticed request for more penalties on pollution, shifting taxes from salaries to carbon and phasing out coal-fired power plants within a few years.
The conference also cited it was important to rein in youth leaders in the drive to cajole a unconvinced older generation about climate change.
The UN Secretary General’s special envoy for the New York summit, Luis Alfonso de Alba, stated the event chiefly laid the foundation for September’s summit and pointed to 2020 – a crucial moment for the Paris agreement.
By the end of next year, nations must vow what they would do to cut greenhouse emissions by 45% by 2030.
His Highness Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE’s Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, also requested for more focus on the health aspect of climate change.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General has summoned the September New York summit to submit ways to bolster commitments under the Paris agreement. This would be discussed again in Chile this December at another UN climate meeting.
By December 2020, signers to Paris must pledge to their enhanced commitments to diminish greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.
