Nations at UN climate talks were haggling yesterday over the world’s plan to avert disaster as host Poland dumped a draft decision text on delegates just hours before the summit was due to end.
Negotiators told reporters that delegates from nearly 200 nations were still far apart on several issues, from how the fight against climate change is funded to the levels of help given to countries already experiencing its effects.
Ministers at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change must agree on a common rule book to make good on promises made by countries in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Photo: EPA-EFE
One negotiator said there were “several areas of concern” surrounding the draft decision text.
A major sticking point remains finance: Developing nations have said they cannot afford to make their economies greener without reliable, transparent funding from richer nations.
In the draft text there was no resolution on the key issue of finance, and developed nations were accused of seeking to shirk funding promises made in Paris.
ActionAid global climate lead Harjeet Singh said that rich countries were “playing a cruel joke” on developing nations.
“There is no obligation on their part on finance, both in terms of how much money they are going to provide and how to count that money,” he said.
The draft text gave short shrift to another red-line issue for poor countries exposed to the ravages brought on by global warming: so-called “loss and damage.”
Cutting emissions and helping nations prepare for the future have long been the twin pillars of the forum, but more recently, a third plank was added to help nations cope with heatwaves, drought and floods happening today.
“It is extremely concerning that loss and damage has been relegated to a footnote in the current draft,” WWF delegation lead Mark Lutes said.
Xie Zhenhua (謝振華), China’s top climate negotiator, said his country “will do what we can” to get a deal in Katowice.
“We may get an outcome that everyone may not be entirely satisfied with, but can accept,” he said.
The expectation was that talks were to go deep into overtime, with a number of key issues still unresolved.
One potential breakthrough came in the form of a tentative consensus over how to treat the latest UN scientific report.
Most nations wanted the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — which called for greenhouse gas emissions to be slashed to nearly half by 2030 to hit the 1.5°C target — to form a key part of future planning.
However, the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait objected, leading to watered-down language in the draft decision.
Dozens of schoolchildren took part in a strike inside the complex called by student Greta Thunberg.
“For two weeks, Greta has been alone pushing leaders to deliver a climate deal. Today we answer her call,” 15-year-old schoolgirl Malgorzata Czachowska said. “The time for talk is over — the time for action is now.”
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS