UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during the Opening Session of
the Climate Change Summit at the United Nations in New York September
23, 2014, in New York. PHOTO | TIMOTHY A. CLARY |
AFP
At no time has a global deal on climate change looked more likely than it does today.
In
October, European Union leaders agreed on ambitious climate and energy
targets for 2030,
including a binding domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent.
including a binding domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent.
Our
announcement injected a new momentum into the global climate
negotiations. And very recently, the United States and China announced
their future targets. This was encouraging news, yet if we are going to
secure a binding and meaningful global deal on climate change, the next
month will be just as crucial.
Today, representatives
from countries all over the world gather in Lima for a crucial
conference to try and lay the groundwork for a global deal on climate
change that world leaders have committed to agreeing in Paris this time
next year.
There is no doubt that action is urgently
needed to push toward the decarbonisation of the global economy and to
make lasting progress on an unprecedented global challenge.
The
impacts of climate change are being felt on every continent, from the
melting of the great glaciers of South America to the retreating sea ice
of the Arctic.
Human influence on the climate is
clear. In its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) showed that concentrations of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere have increased to their highest levels ever.
And
the longer we carry on disturbing the climate, the greater the risks we
will face and the more costly it will become to adapt to the changes.
CHANGE AGREEMENT
But
what is also clear from the IPCC report is that our internationally
agreed target of keeping global warming below 2C remains within our
grasp. And we must ensure that this is reflected in bold contributions
to the global climate change agreement.
The new deal
must mirror the evolving national responsibilities in the world economy
as well as today’s geopolitical realities and the capacity of countries
to contribute. What is critical is a commitment from all countries to
play their part.
This is why the summit in Lima is
crucial. It will be an opportunity to put pressure on other countries,
particularly the other members of the G20, to come forward with their
own targets soon.
The sooner they do this, the more
time we all have to assess if the commitments add up to what scientists
tell us is required to keep global warming to below 2C.
Countries
will also discuss the methodology for evaluating the different
contributions to make sure that they are fair and add up to the effort
we need.
Last but not least, they will discuss the important topic of climate finance to the most vulnerable countries.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to turn
climate change from “the greatest collective challenge facing humankind
today into the greatest opportunity for common progress towards a
sustainable future.”
If we are to succeed in this, we must have the political courage to act decisively now, with ambition and collectively.
Ms
Mogherini is the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission while Mr
Cañete is the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy.
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