World Leaders Face Stark Reality of Climate Targets Shortfall
Dr. Colin Young
Although nations are transitioning to clean energy, the pace falls short of meeting ambitious targets. A recent U.N. report shows that national climate action plans would only reduce emissions to two percent below 2019 levels by 2030, far from the required forty-three percent reduction. Executive Director for the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Doctor Colin Young, COP28 aims to catalyze greater ambition, providing a platform for nations to submit revised climate action plans by 2025.
Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
“The global stocktake just confirms that we need to do a lot more a lot quicker otherwise the one point degree to stay alive is in jeopardy. We know that every incremental increase in global temperatures the climate related disasters and the impacts of those disasters increase. You asked about indigenous people and vulnerable people and youths and women and elderly, all of them stand to lose significantly more in a higher degree world. So what we are hoping and that is another perennial priority on the COP agenda for CARICOM is that we demand the developed countries, those who a most responsible for causing Climate Change do more faster because what we are doing now is not enough. This year as you probably seen is already going to be one of the hottest years over the last one hundred and twenty thousand years. The trajectory is quite certain. We are going up and up and up. The impacts are going to get worse and worse and worse. This is an opportunity to stop the talking and do what we know the science recommends which is to cut emissions by forty five percent.”
Hipolito Novelo
“But we have been saying that for so many years. What makes you think that this year will be any different?”
Dr. Colin Young
“That is a very good question. Unfortunately as slow as this process is and as imperfect as it is. It is still the best mechanism through which Small Island Developing States like Belize and us in the Caribbean have to cause global action. If we try to go at it a lone we won’t succeed.”
