According to US Ambassador Kerry, “a small number of countries” objected to the final text explicitly mentioning the 1.5 degree limit. However, the climate envoy said he hoped the agreements reached earlier would remain in place.

critical limitation

At the 2015 climate summit in Paris, countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees, preferably 1.5 degrees. At last year’s Glasgow summit, the final report recognized that the effects of climate change are greater at 2 degrees than at 1.5 degrees.

Scientists warn that there is a high chance of reaching some tipping point above 1.5 degrees, which could make warming too fast. As it stands, the world is headed for 2.8 degrees of warming by the end of this century, according to a recent UN report. 1.5 degrees is considered the threshold for slowing the effects of climate change.

Trump

US President Joe Biden apologized for his predecessor Donald Trump’s climate policy at a summit in Egypt on Friday. He pulled the US out of the Paris accords.

The effects of climate change are already noticeable everywhere, but nowhere near as bad as in the video below. The whole coast is gone, the city is swallowed up:

The Dutch contribution to ‘COP27’ in Sharm-el-Sheikh by Minister Leesje Schreinmacher (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) is about water. “Either there is too much water, or too little, or it is polluted,” he said in his speech today. “Nine out of 10 natural disasters in the last ten years have been water-related.”

Private investments

The minister announced an increase in spending on water and activities. This will increase to an additional 15 million euros in 2023 and 40 million euros from 2026. “We will use this money to support the most vulnerable countries.”

He emphasized the need to increase global support for climate action. For this reason, the Netherlands is a co-organizer of the UN Water Conference in New York in March 2023. “To sensitize countries on the importance of investing in water,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Climate adaptation

Schreinemacher also advocated increased private sector investment, particularly in developing countries. “Public resources take us far, but the rest of that road requires private funding,” the minister said. “I know it’s not easy to unlock the much-needed private financing for climate adaptation. But it can be done. That’s why engaging the private sector plays an important role in Dutch policy, especially in Africa.”