COP27: Ukraine a reason to act fast on climate change – Rishi Sunak
The war in Ukraine is a reason to act faster to tackle climate change, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told the UN climate summit COP27.
“Climate and energy security go hand-in-hand,” he said in his first international appearance since taking office.
Leaders from 120 countries are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss next steps in curbing climate change.
Key topics are compensation and support for the most-affected countries.
“Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change. They are a reason to act faster,” Sunak said.
“We can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future […] There really is room for hope,” he added.
In a series of speeches, leaders urged rich countries to stay the course in stopping further climate change, despite the war in Ukraine and global financial problems.
Nations on the front line of climate change laid out the stark impacts of higher temperatures, drought, and floods on people and the environment.
“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the summit.
His stark warning was echoed by former US vice-president and environmentalist Al Gore who said nations must “stop subsiding the culture of death” of fossil fuels.
In an energetic speech, French President Emmanuel Macron urged world leaders to deliver climate justice.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also in Egypt and said countries should not “go weak and wobbly” on climate action.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said switching to renewable energy was “a security policy imperative”, while Italy’s new prime minister Giorgia Meloni said her country remained “strongly committed” to its climate goals.
US President Joe Biden is due to arrive at the summit on Friday, while John Kerry, his special envoy for the climate, is already in attendance.
Though Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg is staying away from the summit, after she accused the UN of “green-washing”, many other youth activists are in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Agencies