Early reports emanating from the Climate Conference – COP 27 – underway in Egypt indicate that negotiations between developing and developed countries are getting tougher. The UN Secretary General has reportedly expressed his concerns saying “There is clearly a breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies. This is no time for finger-pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction,” during a press meet at
Sharm el-Sheikh. In this strained situation, one area of progress is the agreement by the developed world to bring ‘loss and damage’ to the agenda. Now there is recognition that proactive measures are required to help a country hit by a climate event. While this is a ray of hope, the details are yet to be ironed out amidst difficult negotiations. One hopes that this and the overall matter of financial support to developing nations will get resolved soon and one will get to see real action now. The global emissions and climate impacts are at their highest and are already ‘decimating economies and societies’ as per the UN.
There is a loud call for just and equitable solutions and climate justice to the developing world, to those who have contributed least to the climate crisis and continue to suffer the most. The subject of sustainable energy has found sharp focus once again with calls for a rapid transition to renewables, the ‘exit ramp from the climate hell highway’. India has done very well on this front jacking up the share of renewables in its energy mix significantly and even surpassing the targets promised at earlier climate conferences. There is confidence that we will continue to provide leadership in this space in the future. Surely there must be a deep and sustained commitment to bring about an early end to the regime of fossil fuels and total transition to renewables. This requires the developed world to deliver on its pledge of climate finance support – $ 100 billion per annum. At COP27, the world has renewed its strong calls upon the developed world for this.
Our team brings us more first-hand reports and fresh updates on COP27 in this and further issues of Urban Update. We trust these will be followed with interest.
Yet another significant event during the last few days will have profound implications for policymakers and world leaders. The population of this planet crossed the 8 billion mark on November 15. On the one hand, it is an occasion to celebrate the successes in science and public health that have dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality, and improved life expectancy. On the other hand this is a reminder of the challenges we must jointly face and surmount – challenges with respect to feeding a much larger society, educating and providing livelihoods to growing numbers, caring for the larger numbers of seniors, and very importantly ensuring that these growing numbers do not burden our planet to the point of harm. Governments, policymakers, academia, and civil society all over the globe must ponder over these and work towards achieving transformations in our lives to ensure a sustainable future for us all.
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