Actions, Not Words: UN Climate Summit 2014 At NY
Actions, Not Words: UN Climate Summit 2014 At NY
UN's Ban Ki Moon began the Climate Summit in the General Assembly Hall with the words that “We are not here to talk, we are here to make history.” World leaders were informed at this “unprecedented and important”gathering that the aim was to mobilise resources and create action leading to a universal deal for combating climate change.
The human as well as the environmental and financial cost of climate change is becoming tough to handle and Mr.Ban emphasised the need for a “clear shared vision.” 120 heads of States and governments as well as financial and business leaders and civil society representatives gathered together to work towards a solution for climate change. The aim is to reduce emissions and chalk out a clear mobilisation and financial programme for combating climate change.
The UN Secretary-General asked the world leaders to aim at cutting emissions saying that they must peak by 2020 and decline towards the end of the century whereupon earth must have achieved carbon neutrality. Though emissions continued to be a thorny area for developing nations like India which are also combating poverty, the US did not commit to financial aid for combating climate change in poorer countries either. While it was hoped the two groups would stop debating and start taking action, this was not what happened.
The climate change discussion has been reduced to an empty rhetoric and debate between developed and developing nations. The historical injustice meted out to the developing nations which have borne the brunt of development in advanced nations cannot be wiped out easily. Neither can the responsibility of the developing world to its less fortunate fellow nations plagued by the ill effects of climate change.
Demand for food is set to increase by more than 60% by 2050 and climate change is going to threaten food security as well. This is why action was needed and with respect to this sphere at least, it was taken. Major corporations and civil society as well as world leaders pledged to change agricultural practices through increase in productivity and reduction in emissions. Mr. Ban appreciated these efforts saying he was “glad to see action that will increase agricultural productivity, build resilience for farmers and reduce carbon emissions.”
At this climate change conference which was the biggest in history, more than 20 governments and 30 companies as well as organisations announced that they would be joining the newly launched Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture aiming to enable 500 million farmers to develop new techniques for boosting food production in the face of climate change.
Civil society organisations have also committed to action to protect the “poorest and most vulnerable farmers from climate change.” Indigenous and scientific knowledge can go a long way in enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring that people have access to food security and nutrition.
The Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance was set up by the African Union to bring around 25 million farming households across the continent in a way that would enable them to practice climate savvy agriculture. Indian farmers would benefit from such initiatives as well. Some of the many corporations who committed to increase the food production through their supply chains with climate smart approaches included Walmart, Kellogg and McDonald’s.
The International Fund For Agricultural Development and the World Bank also made a joint announcement to ensure 100% of agricultural investment portfolio wuld have attained the status of being climate smart by 2018. The World Food Programme also expanded its initiatives to increase food security in Zambia and Malawi.
A total of $13 billion in new pledges were also announced by Denmark, France, Norway, Mexico, South Korea and 3 other nations. The US refusal to provide climate change funds were noted . Tim Gore, head of Oxfam also announced in a statement that “The pledges announced here still leave the fund with less than a sixth of the total developed countries should commit. All eyes are now on those yet to stump up, including the U.S., UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand, and on the devil in the detail of those pledges made today."
The Summit also had a major event for conservation. The New York Declaration on Forests was signed by companies, governments as well as NGOs and the aim is to cut the rate of natural forest loss by half in 2020 and eliminate forest loss by 2030, among other goals. The UN Climate Summit scored on a lot of important points, but unless world leaders of developed and developing countries join hands and fight together rather than with reach other, this is a game with no winners.
Mr. Ban also spoke of the need to unite and fight climate change. He announced that the UN headquarters impacted considerably by Super Storm Sandy is to be carbon neutral by 2020. A top UN offical was quoted by the media as saying, “To ride this storm we need all hands on deck. Today we must set the world on a new course.”
Mr. Ban personally took part in a People’s March with 300,000 people ahead of the summit to underscore the importance of taking actions rather than making empty promises. “They asked me to bring their voices into the halls of the United Nations,” the UN Secretary General said in reference to a box with 2 million signatures in favour of combating climate change, “That is what I have done. Our duty now is to listen,” he added in a press conference alongside.
A Mayor's Compact signed by more than 200 mayors representing 400 million people to cut down emissions to between 12.4 and 16.4 was another positive achievement of this summit. Oil and gas companies also pledged to curb the release of methane gas while massive financial institutions pledged USD 200 billion for creating low carbon economies by 2015.
Unless the fight between the developed and developing countries stops, the vision regarding climate change and combating it will remain weak and clouded. If the future ahead is to be bright and the path crystal clear, both the camps have to stop arguing and start listening. Action can undo the damage, not words. We have a chance to save the world that has been our home for so long now. If climate change is eliminated, future generations will get to call earth home too.
