Antonio Guterres told world leaders at the opening of the Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt on Monday: “We are in the fight of our lives and we are losing… And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos unstoppable. reversible. “We’re on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the gas.” He said the world faced a stark choice in the next fortnight of talks: either developed and developing countries work together to strike a “historic pact” that would cut greenhouse gas emissions and put the world on a low-carbon path – or failure, which would bring climate collapse and disaster. “We can sign a climate solidarity pact or a collective suicide pact,” he added. He said the world has the tools it needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in clean energy and low-carbon technology. “A window of opportunity remains open, but only a narrow shaft of light remains,” he said. “The global climate battle will be won or lost in this critical decade – right before our eyes. One thing is certain: those who give up are certain to lose.” Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Egypt’s president, said in his opening speech at the summit that poor and vulnerable people around the world are already experiencing the effects of extreme weather: “The intensity and frequency of climate disasters have never been greater, in all four corners of the world, bringing a wave of suffering to billions of people. Isn’t it time today to put an end to this suffering?’ More than 100 heads of state and government from around the world gathered in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh on Monday for two days of closed-door events and public events to discuss the climate crisis. Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, will attend for a day, along with Olaf Scholz of Germany, Emmanuel Macron of France and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Joe Biden, the US president, will come later in the week, after the US mid-term elections. Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, will unveil a new climate finance initiative for the developing world and African leaders including William Ruto of Kenya, Macky Sall of Senegal and George Weah, the president of Liberia , are in talks. . The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, is also present at the meeting. From Wednesday, world leaders will hand over officials and ministers for the remaining fortnight of talks. However, the summit promises to be fraught and difficult, with little chance of significant progress. The most important stories on the planet. Get all the week’s environmental news – the good, the bad and the must-haves Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The countries are meeting in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, a global energy crisis and the cost of living and rising global tensions. Rich and poor countries are at loggerheads as major economies have failed to cut greenhouse gas emissions fast enough, and poorer countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis are receiving little of the financial aid they need and have been promised. The Cop27 conference got off to a slow start, with negotiators spending more than 40 hours over the weekend wrangling over what would be on the agenda. In the end, it was agreed to discuss the vexed issue of loss and damage – which refers to the worst impacts of the climate crisis, which are too severe for countries to adapt to. Poor countries suffering loss and damage want an economic mechanism that will give them access to finance when disasters such as hurricanes, floods and droughts strike, destroying their infrastructure and tearing apart their social fabric. These talks are unlikely to yield a final settlement on losses and damages, but countries are hoping for progress on ways to raise and disburse funding. At most UN climate summits, activists and protesters play a key role. However, Egypt represses dissent and its prisons are full of political prisoners. Sisi’s government has promised that the voices of climate activists will be heard, but their activities have been restricted, with protesters kept in a separate area and required to register in advance to be granted permission for even small demonstrations. .
