COP29: Hopelessly weak deal at a time of crisis
The COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan has been hopeless at a time of deep environmental crisis, says Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP.
This year's COP committed a dire financial package of just $300bn per year from developed countries to fund global action on climate change, falling far below the requested $500bn by island and developing nations.
Mr Harvie says:
“This year’s COP has produced a hopelessly weak deal for island nations and developing nations at a time of urgent climate crisis.
“Once again it has been treated as a stage for political leaders to greenwash their polluting records, even doing fossil fuel deals while refusing to take the urgent action that is needed to save our planet from total environmental breakdown.
“It often seems like the worse the crisis gets, the less that leaders and governments are willing to do to tackle it.
“Prior COP commitments have barely materialised, leaving our global environment in peril and developing countries paying the highest price. We cannot afford any more wasted days or failed summits while climate chaos devastates lives from Vietnam to Valencia. The best time to move on from fossil fuels was decades ago, but the next best time is right now.
“If we don’t take action now there will be no tomorrow to save. That is the bottom line, but so many are waiting in the hopes that someone else will fix the problem. There is no one else coming to save us or our planet, and those who have been given the power and responsibility to act have a duty to do so.
“We don’t just need climate action, we also need climate justice. That is why we need to prioritise climate restoration and huge investment to mitigate the devastating impact that the crisis is already having, particularly on the global south.
“Instead we have seen wealthier countries, including some of the biggest polluters, shirking their responsibility and continuing with business as usual while the world burns around them. Without urgent change, the election of Donald Trump will only make this worse.
“We can have a fairer, greener and more prosperous future for our planet, but it demands the kind of leadership that the world’s wealthiest countries have failed to show."
