King Charles says the world is heading into “dangerous uncharted territory” as the climate crisis worsens

CNN
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King Charles III told world leaders on Friday that warning signs of the climate crisis were being ignored and the world would face major challenges. The world is heading to “Dangerous uncharted territory”, with devastating consequences for lives and livelihoods.

Delivering an opening speech to delegates at the Global Climate Action Summit, part of COP28 summit in DubaiThe king said he prayed “with all my heart that the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will be a decisive turning point towards truly transformative action.”

“There has been some important progress, but what concerns me most is that we are still very far off track,” he said, adding, “We are taking the natural world beyond balanced norms and boundaries into dangerous uncharted territory.”

Pointing to extreme weather fueled by climate change this year, including an unprecedented wildfire season in Canada, deadly floods in Pakistan and Bangladesh and catastrophic drought in East Africa, the king told delegates that “the hope of the world” depends on the decisions made at the summit. .

He said: “We are conducting a vast and terrifying experiment to change all environmental conditions at once at a pace that far exceeds nature’s ability to adapt.”

The king called for a series of measures, including strengthening public and private financing, to address the climate crisis and rapidly increase renewable energy.

“In 2050, our grandchildren will not ask what we said, but will live with the consequences of what we did or did not do,” he said. He added: “The land does not belong to us. We belong to the land.”

Friday saw the king’s first major speech on climate change since he became king last year. the king He did not attend COP27 last year Summit in Egypt, after the then UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, advised him not to go. CNN learned at the time that the king and the government jointly agreed that the climate summit was not the appropriate occasion for the king’s first trip abroad as sovereign.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who actually spoke at the ceremony, announced a $30 billion green investment fund, “designed to bridge the climate financing gap.”

Developing countries have long pushed the rich world to direct more funding to the Global South to help it achieve the green transition. He spoke in Dubai, where the UAE is hosting the talks.

A year after Recording global temperaturesWith deadly extreme weather fueled, the pressure is high at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on leaders to make ambitious progress on tackling the climate crisis. But countries remain divided over the role fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change, will play in the future.

The 28th Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), which opened on Thursday, has begun with great progress as countries Officially approved damage fundfor decades, to help countries most affected by the climate crisis.

Countries making immediate commitments include the United Arab Emirates and Germany, both of which pledged $100 million, and the United Kingdom, which announced £60 million, part of which will be used for “other arrangements,” according to the press release. The United States announced a commitment of $17.5 million, which some experts and advocacy groups described as “embarrassing.”

On Friday, the leaders of 134 countries – which together produce 70% of the world’s food – including the United States, the European Union and Brazil, signed a declaration pledging to include food in their climate change plans by 2025. This is the first time a conference has been held Parties The summit leaders’ declaration focused on the food and climate crisis.

Diets are responsible for About a third of global pollution is caused by global warming. At the same time, agriculture is becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, made more frequent and intense by climate change.

Ani Dasgupta, CEO of the international climate non-profit World Resources Institute, called the pledge a “big deal.” He said in a statement that it sends a “strong signal” that “we cannot keep the 1.5 degree target in sight unless we act quickly to change the global food system.”

But others said that while the pledge was welcome, it was too vague. “It does not determine how governments will address food emissions,” Patty Fung, program director at the Global Food Future Alliance, said in a statement.

World leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, will address delegates on Friday at the talks in Dubai.

CNN’s Lauren Said Morehouse, Angela Dewan and Ella Nielsen contributed reporting