Urgent Call for Action on Climate Change: Letter from Scientists and Ex-UN Chiefs
In a significant move, an open letter signed by over 20 experts, former leaders, and scientists, including UNFCCC Chief Christiana Figueres and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has urged a change in the organization of COP climate conferences. The goal is to allow COP to honor its commitments and ensure the urgent energy transition and gradual phase-out of fossil fuels.
The current structure of COP is deemed insufficient to bring about the necessary change at the required speed and scale. The signatories suggest a shift from negotiation to implementation, focusing on collaborative, inclusive, and representative COP presidency structures, greater participation of civil society and marginalized groups, and a focus on implementing rather than introducing new initiatives.
One of the key proposals is the need for strict eligibility criteria to exclude countries that do not support the gradual phase-out/transition away from fossil fuels in the selection process for Cop presidencies. Recognizing the interdependencies between poverty, inequality, and planetary instability is also a point in the open letter.
Another important aspect is accelerating and scaling up the solutions identified during the COPs. The signatories also request better communication of the most authoritative scientific theses and call for fossil fuel industry exclusion from COP communications and sponsorships. Host countries are urged to demonstrate their high level of ambition in supporting the Paris Agreement's objectives or risk being excluded as event venues for COP conferences.
The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, is among other critical voices regarding the UN's COP organization. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has also called for urgent reform of the UN's COP organization.
Recent controversies surrounding COP29, scheduled to be held in Baku, have highlighted the need for such reforms. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has made statements regarding oil and gas as a "gift from God, just like the sun, wind, and minerals". However, the seven points list does not mention COP29 or the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in relation to these controversies or statements about oil and gas.
The open letter, while not explicitly stating the seven points, does emphasize the need for a change of pace in the structure of COP events, organized by the UN, to ensure a more effective and efficient response to the climate crisis.
Environmental science and policy-and-legislation intertwine as experts call for a transformation in the COP organization's structure to address climate-change more efficiently. The proposed change prioritizes implementation over negotiation, featuring collaborative, inclusive, and representative presidencies, enhanced civil society participation, and a focus on enacting rather than merely proposing new initiatives.
Moreover, the open letter highlights the importance of accelerating and scaling up solutions identified during COPs, better communicating authoritative scientific theses, and excluding the fossil fuel industry from COP communications and sponsorships.
Lastly, high-profile leaders like the Prime Ministers of Albania and Barbados have vocalized their concerns about the UN's COP organization, underscoring the call for urgent reform as recent controversies surrounding COP29 persist.
