TheCable

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN climate change secretariat, says only 23 of 200 countries have submitted their updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Stiell spoke on Tuesday at the pre-COP high-level meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) chaired by Ghana. 

With just one month to COP27, he said the response from countries on their updated climate plans is a “failing grade”.

He added that if countries do not act, the climate horrors being experienced will be minimal compared to what’s to come.

Stiell said it is sad that it takes “death and destruction” to get the global north to notice the insufficient levels of their climate ambitions.

“With respect to mitigation, in Glasgow, all parties — especially G20 nations — were instructed to revisit and strengthen their national climate action plans,” he said.

“They agreed to submit those plans to the UNFCCC by September 26. What did we receive? Twenty-three of nearly 200 parties submitted their revised climate plans. Twelve percent. To call it a failing grade is an understatement.

“Nations must fulfil their promises to each other — to the world — and deliver stronger climate plans now. They still have time and I urge them to do so. 

“Adaptation is another area where we need to scale up implementation through national adaptation plans and the NDCs. In Glasgow, parties promised to double adaptation support to $40 billion dollars a year by 2025.

“To that end, we require concrete proposals on how this will be delivered. And we need an outcome on the Global Goal for Adaptation that captures and locks in progress made in 2022 while also providing direction to its work program in 2023.

“Of course, we need progress with respect to finance in other areas as well. Developed nations must — at long last — fulfil the $100 billion commitment to developing nations that was promised a decade ago.”

He called for the mobilisation of finance to move away from fossil fuels to clean energy, adding that national, business and finance leaders should show how the financial system can be transformed to align financial flows with current and required climate change commitments.