UN Secy, COP27 Prez urge nations to deliver through much-needed pacts

A focus on solutions closed out COP27's thematic days program on Friday with COP27 President Sameh Shoukry urging all parties to go the extra mile and take the necessary steps to reach much-needed conclusions and agreements.

Joined by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, COP President Shoukry said: "While progress has been achieved on many issues, it is evidently clear that at this late stage of the COP27 process, there are still a number of issues, where progress remains lacking with persisting divergent views amongst Parties.

"While some of the discussions are constructive and positive, others do not reflect the expected recognition of the need to move collectively to address the gravity and urgency of the climate crisis. The world has become a stage for a continuously running show of human misery and pain. This needs to end now, not tomorrow."

Earlier in the day, the agenda featured several sessions that drew attention to urbanization and climate change and ensuring that cities around the world are part of climate solutions to accelerate multi-level action and bolder leadership to meet the goal of 1.5 Celsius degrees target by 2030.

To this end, the COP27 Presidency, with the support of UN-Habitat, convened the first-ever Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change at a UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP).

The Ministerial Meeting reinforced the commitment of the Paris Agreement and committed to accelerated climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation action and local climate finance, and focused on housing, urban development, and multi-level action in relation to climate change.

The meeting took place on "Solutions Day", which concluded the thematic programming at COP27; a day when four initiatives were launched including Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation Initiative, Friends of Greening National Investment Plans in Africa and Developing Countries Initiative, Low Carbon Transport for Urban Sustainability Initiative and Global Waste Initiative 50 by 2050.

The Methane Ministerial Meeting took place, almost a year after the initial launch of the Global Methane Pledge at COP26. The meeting highlighted the crucial efforts needed to address methane emissions.

The Global Methane Pledge comes as a welcomed initiative in this regard, with an ambitious aim of achieving at least a 30 per cent reduction in global methane emissions by 2030, based on 2020 levels.

The Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway provides an important platform for countries that have signed up to the pledge to share experiences and best practices, showcase commitments, and benefit from enhanced access to finance and technical support through bilateral and multilateral arrangements.

During the session, COP27 President Shoukry said: "Without fast, concrete, and concerted action to tackle methane emissions, achieving the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement will remain far from reach. The COP27 Presidency will continue to attract new signups and enhance the global collective effort to reduce methane emissions."

--IANS

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