Rishi Sunak will urge the world’s leaders at the COP27 summit that combating climate change may become “a worldwide mission for new jobs and clean growth.”
In addition, the prime minister will assert that states must adhere to promises made at COP26 in Glasgow a year ago.
The head of the UN’s climate change office stated that a crucial objective to limit global temperature rises is “still attainable.”
Mr. Sunak is making his international debut in Egypt after becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom a month ago.
He arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday evening and will join other world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron, at the United Nations gathering.
Mr. Sunak will announce the funding of almost £200 million to maintain forests and promote green technologies in underdeveloped countries.
This week, he reversed his decision not to attend COP27 in response to opposition MPs and activists. He first declined the invitation, citing his preoccupation with the November budget.
In his opening statement on Monday, Mr. Sunak will urge world leaders to “go further and quicker” to limit global warming to 1.5C over pre-industrial levels to avert the worst effects of climate change.
He will assert that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “confirmed” the need to eliminate reliance on fossil fuels, but will argue that the attack can provide a boost for emerging green businesses.
“The world gathered in Glasgow with one last opportunity to create a strategy that would limit global temperature rises to 1.5C,” he will say. “The question today is whether we can muster the collective will to keep these pledges.”
“By keeping the promises we made in Glasgow, we can transform our fight against climate change into a global mission for new employment and clean growth, and leave our children with a better planet and a brighter future.”
Mr. Sunak will also see Mr. Macron during the conference, where the problem of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is likely to be discussed. According to the prime minister, limiting the number of border crossings is a “vital goal.”
According to Downing Street, Mr. Sunak will announce an additional £65.5 million for the clean energy innovation facility, which provides grants to researchers and scientists in developing nations working on clean technologies, such as biomass-powered refrigeration in India and lithium-ion batteries in Nigeria.
In addition, the UK has pledged £90 million for the conservation of the Congo Basin rainforest and £65 million for the help of indigenous and local populations.
Ed Miliband of the Labour Party, meanwhile, stated that Mr. Sunak “had to be dragged kicking and screaming” to the summit and that it was “unlikely for him to claim the mantle of climate leadership.”
The shadow secretary for climate change stated that the government should abandon plans to give new exploration licenses in the North Sea and remove its resistance to onshore wind.
As COP27 got underway, the UN warned that it will take “exceptional effort” to accomplish the crucial goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C.
Simon Stiell, the UN’s new climate chief, stated, “Science tells us that it is still within reach.” We are unable to reduce the pressure.
Mr. Stiell told that only 29 states have increased their climate commitments since last year, which was “insufficient.”
Since 1993, the rate at which sea levels are rising has doubled, according to a report released by the United Nation’s weather and climate agency.
Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres referred to the study as a “chronicle of climate chaos” and encouraged states at COP27 to respond to the planet’s “distress signal” with “ambitious, credible climate action”.
According to the UN’s climate scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures have climbed 1.1C and are headed towards 1.5C. (IPCC).
Half of the world’s population might be subjected to life-threatening heat and humidity if temperatures climb 1.7 to 1.8 degrees Celsius above 1850s levels.
The UN has cautioned that wealthy nations are failing to provide the necessary funds to assist developing nations to adapt to a changing climate and prosper sustainably.
However, Mr. Stiell stated that the meeting was off to a “hopeful start” after poor nations successfully campaigned to include the controversial topic of “loss and damage” on the agenda.
This discussion centers on the compensation money paid by wealthier nations to the states most severely impacted by climate change.
President of the Federated States of Micronesia David Panuelo told that larger nations must “live up to their nationally set contributions.
Mr. Panuelo cited China, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and Brazil as examples of “many countries that need to step up with… promises to help face this crisis that global societies are currently confronting.”
