‘A masterclass in climate destruction’: UN chief urges action at COP29

The head of the United Nations is urging faster action by world leaders after 2024 saw what he called a “masterclass in climate destruction,” adding limiting global warming was still possible but difficult.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told world leaders and those who attended COP29 that the world was in the “final countdown” of its chance to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5 C.

“Time is not on our side,” he said. “Exhibit A: 2024. With the hottest day on record and the hottest month on record, this is almost certain to be the hottest year on record, and a masterclass in climate destruction.”

Guterres went on to cite recent hurricanes prompting evacuation, flooding in various communities and extreme heat’s impact on workers as examples of disasters being “super-charged” by climate change.

The European Union’s climate agency said last week it’s expected 2024 will be the hottest year on record.

With those impacts, Guterres noted, come impacts to the global economy with destroyed homes pushing up insurance premiums and supply chain “shocks” raising costs.

While he tried to stress the importance of action to leaders at COP29, those in charge of some of the countries that are the biggest polluters were not there.

Neither China nor the U.S. — the biggest polluters and strongest economies — sent their presidents and neither did India or Indonesia, the four of which account for the world’s most populous nations.

There is expectation among some U.S. officials that president-elect Donald Trump would pull the country out of the Paris agreement for a second time after doing so in 2020, as he promised during the campaign to do so. He’s also called emissions regulations part of a “green new scam.”

Without naming him, Guterres appeared to balk at Trump’s threat saying that doubling down on fossil fuels was “absurd.”

“The clean energy revolution is here,” he said. “No group, no business and no government can stop it.”

Climate finance, in which wealthier nations are compensating poor countries for climate change damage, is a key focus of the climate summit.

During a press conference Tuesday, COP29 officials said a deal was reached for up to US$1 trillion in annual climate finance for developing countries.

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Guterres warned the money was “not charity, it’s an investment,” and urged countries to “pay up” so no one would be left “empty-handed.”

But many countries of various economies have seen an impact from climate change, including Canada.

The Canadian Climate Institute reported in September that the country had seen the financial toll just from the flooding in Toronto in July and the wildfire that ravaged Jasper, Alta., amount to $1.8 billion — and that’s only counting insured losses.

The organization warned such events point to the need for faster action on climate change to limit the damages.

Yet that action has to happen now and Guterres stressed the need to focus on three priorities, the first of which is reducing emissions quickly.

He said to limit the rise to 1.5 C, global emissions must be cut nine per cent annually and must be down 43 per cent on 2019 levels by 2030.

“Unfortunately, they are still growing at the present moment,” he said.

Canada’s own federal environment commissioner last week stressed in a report that the country is not on track to meet its Paris climate agreement commitments.

Ottawa promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, but so far they have fallen seven per cent below 2005 levels.

— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters