Former US President Barack Obama waved as he walked to a meeting during the COP26 United Nations climate change conference.
- Former US President Barack Obama stated at the COP26 summit that the world is still far from responding to climate change.
- He also took this opportunity to criticize Russia and China for their massive pollution.
- The COP26 summit is currently being held in Glasgow.
Former US President Barack Obama said on Monday that the bad news in the UN climate negotiations is that the world is far from meeting the needs of global warming.
Speaking of the Paris Agreement reached in 2015, Obama said at the COP26 summit held in Glasgow: “Therefore, Paris has shown the world that progress is possible and created a framework where important work is completed and important work Finish it here. This is good news.”
“Now is the bad news. We are far from where we need to go.”
Obama also lashed out at those who play politics in order to avoid taking action on climate change, calling out Russia and China just like domestic Republican politicians.
Obama said: “It is especially frustrating to see the leaders of China and Russia, the two largest emitters in the world, even refuse to attend the meeting in Glasgow.”
Read | At the COP26 meeting, 45 countries pledged to protect nature in the fight against climate change
Their “national plans so far reflect the danger of these governments’ lack of urgency and willingness to maintain the status quo, which is a shame.”
The former Democratic president also targeted the Republican domestic legislators.
Obama stated that he and the current Democratic President Joe Biden are “to a large extent limited by the fact that one of our two main parties has not only decided to stand idly by, but has also expressed active hostility towards climate science, and Make climate change a partisan issue. .”
Obama also talked about the island countries, saying that the heir story in the 2015 climate negotiations was crucial to the final Paris Agreement, which requires countries to limit the global average temperature rise to “far below” 2 degrees Celsius than the pre-industrial level. .
“My experience growing up in Hawaii shaped me,” Obama said, adding: “We must act now to help adapt and recover.”
Other speakers at the COP26 summit pressured Obama on the failure of the United States and other Western countries to fulfill their pledge to provide US$100 billion in climate financing each year.
The Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, stated: “Among other things, the United States severely lacks climate funding to pay its fair share, adding: “Now our most vulnerable places are told to accept and wait. “
“Developed countries have let us down,” Banimarama said.
