Pledges by China, Japan and South Korea to slash carbon emissions to net zero are important signs of leadership in tackling climate change, climate chief says.
Pledges by China, Japan and South Korea to slash carbon emissions to net zero are “extremely important” signs of leadership in reviving global efforts to tackle climate change, the United Nations climate chief said.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), welcomed this week’s announcements by Japan and South Korea that they would target carbon neutrality by 2050, and China’s pledge in September to hit the goal by 2060.
“These signals of very strong commitments by countries that are very important, and that have a real impact on the level of emissions globally, are extremely important,” Espinosa said.
“And it’s also very important to recognise that they are coming at a time when we need this kind of leadership.”
Diplomats began 2020 hoping this would prove to be a pivotal year in implementing a global accord to slow climate change brokered in Paris in 2015.
But the COVID-19 pandemic threw those plans into disarray, forcing officials to postpone a major climate conference planned in Glasgow in November by a year.
‘Future for humanity’
Climate diplomacy has been further overshadowed by last year’s move by US President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from the Paris accord.
That decision takes effect the day after US presidential elections on November 3 – the earliest date the country could leave because of the way the pact was designed.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has pledged to return the United States to the Paris deal if he wins.
Espinosa said the Asian net-zero pledges had boosted hopes more countries would take bolder climate action.
“It’s really a significant contribution towards bringing the international community in line to achieving the goals under the Paris agreement,” she said.
“And that means the future for humanity in this planet.”
October 31, 2020 at 03:12AM
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/30/climate-pledges-from-asia-send-extremely-important-signal-un
Climate pledges from Asia send ‘extremely important’ signal: UN - Aljazeera.com
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