The two-day summit held as part of the UN climate conference COP31 in Antalya ended without a clear common message on how the climate crisis should be tackled. Leaders of poor, low-emission countries urged wealthy polluters to provide more funding to address the consequences of global warming.
At the same time, the leaders of China, the United States, India, Russia and Japan did not take part in the forum. The five countries are listed as the biggest polluters. Of the G7 countries, the only leader to arrive in Antalya was British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
London defended electrification but faced criticism
Burnham and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supported the target of 35% electrification by 2035. In his speech, the British prime minister said: „The climate crisis is not a distant threat. It is looming over all of us right now and destroying lives and livelihoods everywhere.“
He linked climate risks to the economic consequences of wars and dependence on fossil fuels. „What all of this has in common is our dependence on fossil fuels“, Burnham said.
However, the British prime minister was criticised by environmental organisations after information emerged that the United Kingdom would reduce its targets for the number of electric vehicles by around a quarter.
Venezuela defended the oil industry
Against the backdrop of calls to limit fossil fuels, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez defended the country’s oil industry.
„There is no inevitable contradiction between energy development and environmental protection“, Rodríguez said.She stressed that Venezuela would uphold „its sovereign right to responsibly strengthen its oil and energy industry“ as a driver of national development.
Greta Thunberg: No one is going to save us
Following actions and protests by various groups, climate activist Greta Thunberg issued a sharp warning to the forum’s participants.
„The planet is not dying. It is being killed. We know by whom, and it is being killed by the same people who were expected to save us. No one is going to save us“, Thunberg said.Negotiations within COP31 will continue in Antalya until 20 November. Following the summit, the main dispute remains over who should finance action to address climate damage and how far the move away from fossil fuels should go.
Sources: bnrnews.bg