Climate and COP25

El País runs an article on the key event taking place in Madrid at the moment - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The conference brings together 25,000 delegates from 200 countries who are seeking for an agreement to address the effects of global warming. The article discusses the speech given at the opening ceremony by the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who stated that today only few people are still denying the evidence of climate change. He also urged Europeans to lead the decarbonisation efforts and to turn words into actions. The article adds that despite Madrid’s new right-wing administration’s efforts to push back on the anti-pollution plan known as Madrid Central, authorities and political leaders have worked together to create and make the COP25 event successful. The last-minute organisational efforts came after the huge wave of strikes against the Chilean government where the event was supposed to take place originally.   

French rfi runs an article this week on a report by the Global Carbon Project which reveals that carbon emissions will increase by 0.6% in 2019. Carbon is the main contributor to extreme weather conditions, such as rising of the oceans and frequent fires. Currently, China is the world’s biggest carbon polluter, contributing with 28% of this year’s emissions. The scientists behind the Global Carbon Project warn that unless drastic actions are taken at local levels in all countries, carbon emissions could continue to rise throughout the next ten years. The article mentions that both rich and poor countries are equally affected by climate-related changes, with Germany, Japan and the Philippines being hit hardest in 2018, according to environmental organisation Germanwatch. However, developing countries suffer the most from climate changes because it takes them longer time to recover, the article concludes.

Referring to the same report by the environmental think tank Germanwatch, Berliner Morgenpost highlights how Germany was among the countries most affected by extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves and droughts in 2018. Just in time for the UN Climate Change Summit‎, the think tank’s annual Global Climate Risk Index reminds policymakers of the reasons why climate change should take centre stage in today’s policy debates. The index compares death tolls and property damage caused by extreme weather conditions, putting them in relation to population and gross domestic product (GDP). Meanwhile, the new European Commission has announced it will spend more money on combating climate change in the coming years, with money for this transition fund coming from the EU budget, member states, the private sector and the European Investment Bank.

The Portuguese TVI24 reports another event part of the COP25 this week. On Wednesday, young activists urged everyone to join the climate crisis fight and accused world leaders of being undemocratic and selfish. The article emphasises the importance of indigenous people in protecting the environment. The article also quotes a representative from “Fridays for Future” who has stated strikes will continue until world leaders start not only to understand, but to listen to protesters. TVI24 reminds its readers of the founder of “Fridays for Future”, 16 old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg who became famous for starting striking on Fridays as a protest against lack of actions by politicians to tackle climate actions. Today she is one of the most famous activists in the fight against climate change.