"Countries committed to climate plans" - UN climate chief reacts to US withdrawal from Paris pact
Countries are staying committed to their national climate plans and seeking to lead the clean energy transition, the UN's top climate official said in his first speech of the year. The response comes as the United States plans to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, set out priorities ahead of the annual climate talks in November and encouraged countries to prepare stronger national climate plans this year, even after US President Donald Trump said he would remove the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the Paris agreement.
"One country may be pulling out, but others are already taking its place to seize the opportunity and reap the massive rewards: stronger economic growth, more jobs, less pollution and much lower health costs, more secure and affordable energy," Stiell said in a speech in Brazil's capital, Brasilia.
"In terms of the actions that are being taken, just looking at what is happening within the markets, it is very clear that countries are moving forward, despite the rhetoric of those who want to back down," he argued, citing the efforts that China, Brazil and India are making to reduce emissions.
Stiell said that in the 10 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world has become more divided, but the climate negotiation process has "managed to counter this trend."
Some governments have faced a political backlash over climate policies, and Green candidates in Europe are losing support. Still, Stiell said the world has mobilized about $2 trillion in climate finance in an effort to reduce emissions. He called on countries to increase the amount of funding from $300 billion a year by 2035, which they agreed to at last year's summit.
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