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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres poses for a photograph
during an interview with Reuters at U.N. headquarters in New York
City, New York, U.S., Sept. 14, 2020. REUTERS / Mike Segar, File
UN chief hails Caribbean
leadership on climate action
By Nelson A. King
United Nations Secretary-General,
António Guterres on Wednesday commended
the leadership of the countries
of Latin America and the Caribbean on
climate action, saying that he was counting
on these nations to send a strong
signal to the 26th UN Climate Change
Conference (COP26) that it is possible to
achieve a resilient net zero future.
Guterres was speaking at the High-
Level Dialogue on Climate Action in the
Americas, hosted by the government
of Argentina.
The one-day virtual event brought
together countries in the Americas,
including the Caribbean, to discuss
their shared commitment to
enhancing climate ambition.
“We need to act together to overcome
the current impasse,” said Guterres, adding
that countries in the region were
already showing their ambition in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and adapting
to climatic change, even as they
grapple with the social and economic
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also pledged “the full support of
the United Nations system to address
the triple threat of COVID-19, climate
change and debt.”
Guterres highlighted three essential
areas that need immediate action. First,
keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial
levels target within reach.
According to him, at present, the world
is “a long way from achieving it”.
He shared some examples of how that
can be accomplished, such as achieving
net zero emissions by 2050 and phasing
out the use of coal no later than 2030 for
Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) countries, and
by 2040 for all others.
The UN chief also said that “a just
transition means ensuring that workers
in high-carbon and fossil fuel-related
sectors have decent alternative options,
are supported for retraining, and have
social safety nets.”
Second, Guterres asked for a breakthrough
on adaptation and resilience,
calling on donors and multilateral development
banks to allocate at least 50 per
cent of their climate finance to this end.
Currently, only 21 per cent is devoted
to it.The UN said developing countries,
including those in the Caribbean, already
need around US$70 billion dollars a year
to adapt to these changes. That figure
could more than quadruple by the end of
this decade, the UN said.
Additionally, the Secretary-General
said developed nations must deliver on
the solidarity agenda.
“That means support to developing
countries on vaccines, debt and liquidity,
as well as climate finance,” he said.
To achieve that goal, Guterres argued
the world needs “a credible plan” for
delivering on the US$100 billion commitment
made over a decade ago, adding
that multilateral development banks
have to align their portfolios with the 1.5
degrees goal.
The opening of the high-level event
also featured remarks from US Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate, John
Kerry, along with Latin American and
Caribbean heads of state, the UN said.
It said the event included interventions
from governments, the private and
financial sectors, development banks,
academia and civil society organizations.
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