Countries at COP24 must urgently step up action to address the climate crisis as the most vulnerable suffer from its escalating impacts, says CARE International.
The 24th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) begins on 2 December in Katowice, Poland, where representatives from the governments of nearly 200 countries and numerous civil society organizations will discuss solutions to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The conference comes at the end of a year in which many millions of people around the world have felt the consequences of the climate crisis, whether it is typhoons in the Philippines, droughts in East Africa or the wildfires in North America. The report presented in October by the UN Climate Change Panel IPCC, which will also be discussed in Katowice, made it clear that significantly accelerated climate action can still avert many negative consequences of the climate crisis.
Caroline Kende-Robb, Secretary General of CARE International: “Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement three years ago, an estimated 50 million people have been displaced due to weather-related disasters, exacerbated by climate change. The UN climate talks in Katowice, Poland, this December, are our last chance to agree on the rules for delivering on the Paris Agreement. This is urgent and it is also possible. But what remains less clear is climate finance. Industrialized nations are responsible for most of the emissions yet those who live in poor countries are suffering the most from climate change. Developed countries need to urgently deliver on their commitment of $100 billion per year. Ultimately, climate finance is about climate justice.”
Sven Harmeling, CARE’s Global Policy Lead on Climate Change and Resilience: “Governments, particularly from the most powerful countries, must show the world that they are not sacrificing the future of the planet. At COP24, they must step up and adopt an action package with short-term concrete measures and long-term rules that promote climate justice globally and nationally. The protection of the poorest, often most affected, people must be the focus.”
CARE expects governments to agree at COP24 to increase the ambition of their national climate action plans by 2020 and collectively close the emission reduction gap to prevent a rise above the 1.5°C limit. A new UN report just highlighted that governments need to increase their mitigation efforts fivefold for this trajectory.
Vitumbiko Chinoko, CARE’s Advocacy and Partnership Coordinator Southern Africa and newly-elected CSO representative in the InsuResilience Global Partnership: “Women and girls in Eastern and Southern Africa are increasingly suffering from recurring droughts and floods, undermining their livelihoods, food security and sustainable development. With the potential for a new El Nino in 2019, CARE calls on developed countries at COP24 to announce new and increased financial support to build resilience for people in the region so they can withstand future disasters. A new UN report showed that adaptation finance is still only about half of the resources provided for cutting emissions. Greater efforts are essential to make climate finance locally-driven and its related adaptation work gender-sensitive.”
At COP24, CARE is particularly involved in advocating for financing for developing countries, agriculture, and human rights, and in addition to political work, brings its concrete project experience from countries affected by climate change into consultations.
CARE is represented at COP24 by an international delegation from Germany, Netherlands, France, Malawi, Peru, Denmark, USA, Canada and Guatemala.
CARE’s position paper on COP24 is available at: https://careclimatechange.org/publications/cares-key-demands-for-cop24/
Source: Press release Care International, 29.11.2018.