War on several continents, economic crises and broken supply lines. The world community is facing serious and imminent crises.
But this must not be an excuse to relax climate ambitions and deliver weaker climate targets in the run-up to the COP30 climate summit later this year. This is what Brazilian COP chairman André Aranha Corrêa do Lago said at the opening of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
- We must remember that climate change is happening regardless of whether we have war or economic crises, says André Aranha Corrêa do Lago.
The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial is an international climate diplomacy meeting that Denmark is hosting for the fourth year in a row on Wednesday and Thursday. The purpose is to prepare the climate diplomatic points of contention well in advance of the climate summit's final negotiations in Brazil in the autumn, and over 34 countries have sent climate ministers and representatives to Moltke's Palace in central Copenhagen.
The major theme of this year's climate summit will be that the countries must submit new climate targets that will ensure a lower temperature increase than otherwise.
At the meeting in Copenhagen, Climate Minister Lars Aagaard (M) will be at the helm, together with the outgoing COP chairman from Azerbaijan and the new Brazilian chairman. The message is the same, regardless of whether you ask the Danish, Central Asian or South American representative.
- It is very important that we categorize climate change as something that is above other crises, says Brazilian André Aranha Corrêa do Lago.
- It is not because we should invest less in climate change, because we should also invest more in other areas.
Prime Minister fears for the climate fight
However, it may already be a reality that the fight against climate change has lost its luster and momentum. This is how Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen perceived it when she attended COP29 in Azerbaijan in the autumn.
- I sense both at European and international level that there is a risk that people will start to go backwards now, because there are so many crises and major challenges on our way, she said.
The Brazilian COP President also understands that several countries and populations will experience other crises as more present than climate change. But the discourse about competing agendas should be put aside.
- Let's not compare the urgency and relevance with struggles in other areas, which are obviously closer to people's everyday lives. We must convince people that climate change is above other problems and that we must deal with it no matter what. says André Aranha Corrêa do Lago.
/ritzau/
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