More than one hundred heads of state and government participate in the summit of leaders, whose second day is held Tuesday in Charm el-Cheikh.
by Laure Stephan (Charm El -Cheikh (Egypt), Special Envoy)
The world is on board “on a highway towards climatic hell, with the foot on the accelerator”. During his speech, Monday, November 7, at the opening of the Summit of Managers supposed to give the impetus of the two weeks of COP27 negotiations which is held at Charm el-Cheikh, the secretary general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, multiplied the warnings with shock formulas, by calling for more action to fight against global warming.
“Humanity has a choice: to cooperate or perish. It is either a climate solidarity pact, or a collective suicide pact,” he launched before the heads of state and government, urging more commitments in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation. “The good news is that we know what to do, and that we have financial and technological tools” to achieve this, said the fervent defender of the climate, in a slightly more optimistic tone.
While the indicators are red to limit warming to 1.5 ° C, diffuse fear is that the other priorities of the moment, like the war in Ukraine, take precedence over climate commitments. Several European countries have pointed to Russia – whose president, Vladimir Putin, has not made the trip – as a cause of current energy and food crises. The conflict has planetary repercussions, energy in Europe to cereals in Africa or the Middle East.
This summit of leaders is marked by the absence of presidents of the two main world polluters, China and the United States. The American Joe Biden, retained by the mid-term elections, will make a visit to Charm El-Cheikh Friday November 11.
Fooring the steps to Antonio Guterres, other leaders have launched themselves in the gallery in apocalyptic predictions. “The choice is between life and death,” said former American vice-president Al Gore, believing that world leaders have a “problem of credibility: we are talking (…) but we are not doing enough” on the climate. The devastation caused by warming has been greeted in practically each official speech.
The countries of the South want to obtain financial repairs
However, this first day of the summit did not give rise to major announcements. The need to maintain the achievements of COP26 in Glasgow – such as the progressive outing of coal – has been recalled by several stakeholders. But the speaking above all illustrated the fracture between representatives of rich countries trying to present themselves as good students of the climate and developing countries demanding more in terms of funding, in the name of the damage suffered.
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