Leaders of civil society organisations (CSOs) from most vulnerable countries (MVCs) Friday called for an end to carbon emission instead of pursuing the “net-zero target by 2050.”
They also demanded that developed countries ensure adequate finance and appropriate tools that will support effective climate action for MVCs and least developed countries (LDCs).
The CSO leaders were speaking at the press conference titled “LDC & MVC Peoples’ expectations and COP26” in Glasgow.
Representatives of different CSOs, including Md Ziaul Hoque Mukta of Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihood, Md Shamsuddoha of Centre for Participatory Research and Development, Shamim Arfeen of AOSED from Bangladesh; and Soumya Datta from Peoples Forum from India joined the press conference.
“The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is being held at a transitional stage in the context of past failure of its commitments, but we are hopeful for the future as the developed countries have pledged to keep cutting global warming and supporting MVCs to fight climate change impacts,” Aminul Hoque of EquityBD from Bangladesh said while presenting the keynote address on civil society expectations.
“Developed countries must change their theory of ‘net-zero target. They will have to revise their nationally determined contributions (NDC) to the “zero-carbon emission’ target by 2050. Also, the countries will have to ensure adequate climate finance for LDCs and MVCs through Green Climate Fund (GCF) and public sources. And they will need to provide support for the establishment and full operationalisation of the proposed loss and damage mechanism with separate financial allocation,” he added.
“Net-zero is a phrase that represents magical thinking rooted in our obsession for future technology. Collectively, net-zero climate targets allow developed countries to continue increasing their levels of greenhouse gas emissions instead of cutting them directly,” Soumya said.
“So, it is a false solution proposal, and all parties must stop the discussion on such vague ‘net-zero emission’ and start the discussion on ‘zero-emission target’ through offsetting the use of fossil fuels and ending carbon emissions.”
“The revised NDCs of developed countries and their full implementation will increase the global temperature above 0.2 degree, which is unacceptable,” Shamsuddoha said.
“Every year, millions of people are displaced due to the loss of all their livelihood options. Rich countries have the responsibility to address the issue and ensure finance and technology support accordingly,” Shamim said.
“The proposed mechanism of ‘Santiago Network for Loss and Damage’ should be supported by them to make it fully operationalise with proper financing.”
Source: United News of Bangladeshy