Some countries resisted mentioning a global target of limiting warming to 1.5°C in the official text of the COP27 summit in Egypt, US special climate envoy John Kerry told the conference on Saturday.
“You are absolutely correct. There are very few countries, but some, that have raised the issue of not mentioning this or that word,” Kerry said when asked about the opposition of some governments to mentioning the 1.5ºC target.
“But the fact is, in Glasgow that was adopted, the language is there. And I know…Egypt is not intended to be the country that harbors a setback from what was achieved in Glasgow,” Kerry said, referring to last year’s COP summit in Scotland.
World governments agreed in 2015 during a UN summit in France to try to limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C, an agreement dubbed the Paris Agreement that was seen as a step forward in international climate ambition.
Greenhouse gas emissions have been on the rise since then, and scientists say the world is in danger of missing the target without quick and deep cuts. Exceeding the 1.5°C threshold risks triggering the worst consequences of global warming.
The world has already warmed by more than 1.1°C from the pre-industrial average temperature – fueling extreme weather conditions that are already causing huge economic losses.
Many developing countries demanded the establishment of a “loss and damage” fund that could distribute money to countries struggling to recover from disasters.
Kerry said the United States would not support the establishment of such a fund and instead believed that existing platforms should be used.
“It is a well-known fact that the United States and many other countries will not establish… some sort of legal framework relating to compensation or liability. This is just not happening,” he said.
“We will find a way, I am confident, to get financial deals that reflect the reality of how we are all going to deal with the climate crisis.”
Democratic lawmakers spent the last few days at the summit trying to bolster US commitment to its climate goals and reassure countries that Washington will deliver on promises made at previous climate summits.
They praised the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in Congress, which freed up more than $300 billion in domestic climate-related spending.
They added that they would push to pass legislation that would allow Biden to fulfill $11.4 billion in a climate finance pledge he made at last year’s Glasgow climate talks. That task can be tricky in a politically divided Congress.
Congressman John Curtis (R-Utah), who leads a delegation of Republicans at the summit, told Reuters he opposes climate aid. “The US writing a check will not solve the problems,” he said.
He said he supports policies that expand production and access to natural gas and the development of new clean energy technologies.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
