A major report from the UN Environment Programme, Unep, was presented on Tuesday, without political agreement being reached on a summary. The 1,200-page report deals, among other things, with the economic benefits of investing in green transition. It warns of major problems for millions of people if the world does not quickly move away from coal, oil and gas.
Until now, the major report, which is published approximately every five years, has always been accompanied by a summary aimed at politicians. It explains the conclusions of the scientific work in more ordinary language and is a form of joint political statement. But at a five-day meeting in October, it was impossible to reach agreement.
Among others, Saudi Arabia and the United States were against formulations about phasing out fossil fuels, according to a report seen by the AFP news agency. The summary must be approved by consensus.
- It is regrettable, says Inger Andersen, who is the Danish director-general of Unep, to AFP about the lack of agreement.
But she believes that the "integrity of the report" remains intact.
No progress despite COP28 agreement
The report "Global Environment Outlook" was first published in 1997. Robert Watson, who has been co-chair of the report, says that "a total transformation of our energy system" is crucial.
- It is absolutely clear that we must eliminate the use of fossil fuels in the coming decades, the British researcher tells journalists.
It was called a historic step towards precisely that goal when it was agreed at the UN climate summit COP28 in Dubai in 2023 that the world must transition away from fossil fuels. But two years later, the world's countries are far from meeting the Dubai targets.
Watson says the world is "not moving fast enough towards sustainability" and progressive governments must lead the transition, he believes.
- As our report says, the costs of action are far less than the costs of inaction. But multilateralism currently appears to be in trouble, he says.
Multilateralism describes international cooperation between countries and other actors to pursue common goals.
/ritzau/AFP
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