Much has happened since my dear and much-missed friend Desmond Tutu (“Arch”) and I wrote this commentary in 2011. The world recorded its warmest decade ever. Leaders have gathered time and again to discuss climate change. And nine climate COPs have come and gone, with promises made and promises broken.
It is crushing that everything we called for more than ten years ago continues to ring even truer today. As millions around the world bear the devastating effects of the climate crisis, with those in poorer countries disproportionately affected, I ask again: What will it take to see real action?
There can be no more empty promises. Rich countries must deliver financial support for the most vulnerable countries, and political leaders must not act out of self-interest but for all people and future generations.
We cannot fall into despair. One of the great lessons Arch taught us was to seek out the goodness in the world. As people continue to rise up, devise innovative solutions, and demand more from their leaders, we can and must find hope in solidarity and action.
Alongside my fellow Elders, I remain inspired by everything Arch stood for, and we will continue fighting for a just future for all. – Mary Robinson, Summer 2022
DURBAN – Before the Copenhagen climate-change summit two years ago, the two of us sat together in Cape Town to listen to five African farmers from different countries, four of whom were women, tell us how climate change was undermining their livelihoods. Each explained how floods and drought, and the lack of regular seasons to sow and reap, were outside their normal experience. Their fears are shared by subsistence farmers and indigenous people worldwide – the people bearing the brunt of climate shocks, though they played no part in causing them.
Now, two years later, we are in Durban, where South Africa is hosting this year’s climate-change conference, COP17, and the situation for poor people in Africa and elsewhere has deteriorated even further. In its latest report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that it is virtually certain that, in global terms, hot days have become hotter and occur more often; indeed, they have increased in frequency by a factor of ten in most regions of the world.
Moreover, the brutal paradox of climate change is that heavy precipitation is occurring more often as well, increasing the risk of flooding. Since 2003, East Africa has had the eight warmest years on record, which is no doubt contributing to the severe famine that now afflicts 13 million people in the Horn of Africa.
These are the consequences that a mere 1° Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels has wrought. The UN Environment Program’s just published report, Bridging the Emissions Gap, shows that over the course of this century, warming will likely rise to 4°C unless we take stronger action to cut emissions. Yet the latest evidence demonstrates that we are not acting; the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Report 2011 reveals that carbon dioxide emissions have rebounded to a record high.
We are alarmed that expectations for COP17 are so low. Where is the global leadership that must respond urgently? We desperately need a global deal.
At the heart of this deal is the preservation of the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol is not a perfect instrument. It does too little to cut global emissions, and it requires too few countries to cut their emissions growth. But it is part of international law, and that is vital.
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Climate change is a global problem: if countries are not confident that others are addressing it, they will not feel an imperative to act themselves. So, having a legal framework with clear and common rules to which all countries are committed is critically important – and the only assurance we have that action will be taken to protect the most vulnerable.
The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. So the European Union and the other Kyoto parties (the United States never ratified the agreement, and the Protocol’s terms asked little of China, India, and other emerging powers) must commit to a second commitment period, in order to ensure that this legal framework is maintained.
At the same time, all countries must acknowledge that extending the lifespan of the Kyoto Protocol will not solve the problem of climate change, and that a new or additional legal framework that covers all countries is needed. The Durban meeting must agree to initiate negotiations toward this end – with a view to concluding a new legal instrument by 2015 at the latest.
All of this is not only possible, but also necessary, because the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy makes economic, social, and environmental sense. The problem is that making it happen requires political will, which, unfortunately, seems in short supply.
Climate change is a matter of justice. The richest countries caused the problem, but it is the world’s poorest who are already suffering from its effects. In Durban, the international community must commit to righting that wrong.
Political leaders must think inter-generationally. They need to imagine the world of 2050, with its nine billion people, and take the right decisions now to ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit a liveable world.
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It is crushing that everything we called for more than ten years ago continues to ring even truer today. As millions around the world bear the devastating effects of the climate crisis, with those in poorer countries disproportionately affected, I ask again: What will it take to see real action?
There can be no more empty promises. Rich countries must deliver financial support for the most vulnerable countries, and political leaders must not act out of self-interest but for all people and future generations.
We cannot fall into despair. One of the great lessons Arch taught us was to seek out the goodness in the world. As people continue to rise up, devise innovative solutions, and demand more from their leaders, we can and must find hope in solidarity and action.
Alongside my fellow Elders, I remain inspired by everything Arch stood for, and we will continue fighting for a just future for all. – Mary Robinson, Summer 2022
DURBAN – Before the Copenhagen climate-change summit two years ago, the two of us sat together in Cape Town to listen to five African farmers from different countries, four of whom were women, tell us how climate change was undermining their livelihoods. Each explained how floods and drought, and the lack of regular seasons to sow and reap, were outside their normal experience. Their fears are shared by subsistence farmers and indigenous people worldwide – the people bearing the brunt of climate shocks, though they played no part in causing them.
Now, two years later, we are in Durban, where South Africa is hosting this year’s climate-change conference, COP17, and the situation for poor people in Africa and elsewhere has deteriorated even further. In its latest report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that it is virtually certain that, in global terms, hot days have become hotter and occur more often; indeed, they have increased in frequency by a factor of ten in most regions of the world.
Moreover, the brutal paradox of climate change is that heavy precipitation is occurring more often as well, increasing the risk of flooding. Since 2003, East Africa has had the eight warmest years on record, which is no doubt contributing to the severe famine that now afflicts 13 million people in the Horn of Africa.
These are the consequences that a mere 1° Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels has wrought. The UN Environment Program’s just published report, Bridging the Emissions Gap, shows that over the course of this century, warming will likely rise to 4°C unless we take stronger action to cut emissions. Yet the latest evidence demonstrates that we are not acting; the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Report 2011 reveals that carbon dioxide emissions have rebounded to a record high.
We are alarmed that expectations for COP17 are so low. Where is the global leadership that must respond urgently? We desperately need a global deal.
At the heart of this deal is the preservation of the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol is not a perfect instrument. It does too little to cut global emissions, and it requires too few countries to cut their emissions growth. But it is part of international law, and that is vital.
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Access every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive.
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Climate change is a global problem: if countries are not confident that others are addressing it, they will not feel an imperative to act themselves. So, having a legal framework with clear and common rules to which all countries are committed is critically important – and the only assurance we have that action will be taken to protect the most vulnerable.
The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. So the European Union and the other Kyoto parties (the United States never ratified the agreement, and the Protocol’s terms asked little of China, India, and other emerging powers) must commit to a second commitment period, in order to ensure that this legal framework is maintained.
At the same time, all countries must acknowledge that extending the lifespan of the Kyoto Protocol will not solve the problem of climate change, and that a new or additional legal framework that covers all countries is needed. The Durban meeting must agree to initiate negotiations toward this end – with a view to concluding a new legal instrument by 2015 at the latest.
All of this is not only possible, but also necessary, because the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy makes economic, social, and environmental sense. The problem is that making it happen requires political will, which, unfortunately, seems in short supply.
Climate change is a matter of justice. The richest countries caused the problem, but it is the world’s poorest who are already suffering from its effects. In Durban, the international community must commit to righting that wrong.
Political leaders must think inter-generationally. They need to imagine the world of 2050, with its nine billion people, and take the right decisions now to ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit a liveable world.