AKEL on the 23rd United Nations Climate Change Conference
Statement by the Environment Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 9th November 2017, Nicosia
The 23rd Session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, is currently convening. We are following the session with reflection, given that this year’s session is taking place in the shadow of the US’ withdrawal.
The definition and implementation of the Agreement on the Climate, signed in Paris in December 2015, is at the very heart of the Conference. All the signatories to this agreement have pledged, setting national climate targets, to limit the rise in global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, in relation to pre-industrial times.
The Paris conference was widely viewed as a success, but this was largely based on the promises that were made to address the problem. COP 23 is expected to be a technical meeting without much enthusiasm. It could prove to be a turning point if Fiji, the first island to hold the presidency, undertook the task of representing the countries whose survival is already threatened by climate change.
Unfortunately, we do not expect any rapid developments at this year’s conference, since none of the big powers accepts that the problem of climate change reflects the global economic problem. The consequences of global warming not only lead to economic damage but also damage human health, intensifying the forces leading to migration and threatening the prospects for growth for the poorest people in the world.
As long as it is not understood that the solution to the economic, social, political and environmental problem is a single issue and that a collective effort is demanded to solve them, a magical recipe will not be found neither for humanity, nor for the environment.
We await the outcome of the 23rd session which will conclude its deliberations on 17th November.
