International Climate Conference: No Disaster Reduction

On July 4, the International Climate Conference closed in Berlin, Germany. The German side believes that this meeting has made positive progress in some aspects and laid a good foundation for the UN climate summit held in Durban, South Africa, in November this year. However, authoritative people here say that there is still much work to be done to achieve the final consensus between developing and developed countries. Overcoming global challenges can only be achieved through the concerted cooperation of the international community.

Representatives of 35 countries from all over the world participated in this climate conference. This is the continuation of the "Petersberg Climate Dialogue" aimed at preparing for the UN climate summit to be held in Durban, South Africa, this November. According to German media reports, although this meeting has brought a constructive atmosphere to the international climate change negotiations and strengthened the trust of all parties, Germany’s Federal Minister of the Environment, Leggen, has reached a consensus on this year’s climate conference in South Africa and adopted a The legally binding resolution still expresses doubt.

Climate experts predict that if the global temperature rise is not controlled within 2 degrees Celsius, it will take less than a few years for some low-lying island countries to suffer from the “disaster” that has disappeared from the earth due to global warming and sea level rise. Experts believe that to achieve this goal, by 2050, global carbon dioxide emissions will have to be reduced by at least 50% on the basis of 1990, and industrial countries will reduce their emissions by more than 80%. From the current situation, there are still many obstacles that need to be overcome to reach a new climate agreement that aims at the above standards. According to data not yet published by the International Energy Agency, the increase in greenhouse gas emissions last year hit a new high, making global carbon emissions at historically high levels, which puts hopes of keeping global warming at a safe level.

After Obama took office, the United States displayed a relatively positive stance on the issue of climate change. In an address to the UN General Assembly, Obama acknowledged that climate change is mainly caused by developed countries, and that developed countries have the obligation to take the lead in addressing global climate change. The actual situation is also true. The industrial countries that account for 13% of the world’s population account for half of the world’s emissions, while the US and Canada’s carbon dioxide emissions alone account for nearly 20 tons, which is more than twice the EU’s per capita emissions, and it is the world's per capita emissions. 10 times more. In an interview in Berlin, the person in charge of the Greenpeace said that the United States is still passive in dealing with climate change and has not made up its mind to sign any climate-related agreement.

For developing countries to achieve their emission reduction targets, they need to invest at least 100 billion euros each year. This is beyond the capabilities of developing countries, so industrial countries must provide them with appropriate technical and financial assistance. However, the programme for providing assistance to developing countries has not been implemented because the views of EU countries are not uniform.