Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene December 2018 Vol.13 No.6 | Page 13

Failing to agree climate action would ‘not
only be immoral’ but ‘suicidal’, UN chief tells
COP24
With
roadblocks
continuing
at the
COP24
climate
change
UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the conference
over how to
COP24 climate change conference
implement
the historic 2015 Paris Agreement, United Nations chief
António Guterres returned to Poland on Wednesday, to
challenge the more than 100 Government leaders gathered
in Katowice to find consensus and “finish the job.”
“In my opening statement to this conference one week
ago…I warned that climate change is running faster than
we are and that Katowice must — in no uncertain terms
— be a success, as a necessary platform to reverse this
trend,” said Secretary-General Guterres.
Since 2 December, the conference has brought
together thousands of climate action decision-makers,
advocates and activists, with one key objective: adopting
global guidelines for the 197 parties of the 2015 Paris
Agreement, when countries committed to limiting global
warming to less than 2°C – and as close as possible to 1.5°
– above pre-industrial levels.
To waste this opportunity in Katowice would compromise
our last best chance to stop runaway climate change. It
would not only be immoral, it would be suicidal - UN
chief Guterres
With only three days left at the conference for the
negotiations, the UN chief regretted that “despite progress
in the negotiating texts, much remains to be done”. On
Wednesday, given the complex state of discussions, the
Polish Presidency of COP24 proposed a text to act as a
“new basis for negotiations”.
“Key political issues remain unresolved,” said Mr.
Guterres. “This is not surprising—we recognize the
complexity of this work. But we are running out of
time,” he warned, referring to the alarming special
report on global warming issued in October by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“Over the last 10 days”, he said, addressing the country
delegations which are locked in negotiations, “many
of you have worked long, hard hours and I want to
acknowledge your efforts. But we need to accelerate those
efforts to reach consensus if we want to follow-up on the
commitments made in Paris.”
He called on negotiators to boost their ambition, with
regards to “predictable and accessible financial flows
for the economic transition towards a low-emission and
climate-resilient world.”
The Secretary-General reminded the audience that
developed countries had a financial obligation to support
the efforts of developing countries, as established by the
UN Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC), under which
the Paris Agreement falls, and which was signed in 1992,
more than 25 years ago.
“It’s very difficult to explain to those suffering from the
effects of climate change that we have not managed to
find predictable support for the actions that must be
taken,” he remarked.
Mr. Guterres hailed various financial announcements made
since the beginning of COP24, including by the World
Bank, multilateral development banks, and the private
sector. However, he urged developed nations to “scale up
their contributions to jointly mobilize $100 billion annually
by 2020”, as laid out three years ago in Paris.
Balance the responsibilities ‘of all countries’ to beat
climate change
In addition to increased resources, the UN Secretary-
General also called for the development of a “flexible but
robust set of rules” to implement the Paris Agreement
– as 2018 was set by the UNFCCC parties themselves, as
the deadline for these guidelines, so countries can move
forward with climate action in a transparent way.
“Countries have different realities, different capacities
and different circumstances,” noted the UN chief, as he
explained that “we must find a formula that balances
the responsibilities of all countries” and that is “fair and
effective for all”.
To achieve this, Mr. Guterres stressed the importance of
building trust through a “strong transparency framework
to monitor and assess progress on all fronts: mitigation,
adaptation and provision of support, including finance,
technology and capacity building”.
The UN chief said we have the know-how, as well as
“incredible momentum from all segments of society”
adding that “what we need, is the political will to move
forward”.
“I understand that none of this s easy. I understand some
of you will need to make some tough political decisions,”
he acknowledged, “But this is the time for consensus. This
is the time for political compromises to be reached. This
means sacrifices, but it will benefit us all collectively.”
Challenging the delegates and ministers to overcome their
national preferences and work “together” and “finish the
job” with raised ambition “on all fronts”, Mr. Guterres
concluded: “To waste this opportunity in Katowice
would compromise our last best chance to stop runaway
climate change. It would not only be immoral, it would be
suicidal.”
Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • December 2018
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