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The world will not accept anything but strong commitments towards ending climate chaos - Morning Star Online

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LEADERS at the Cop26 summit have been told that the world will not accept anything but strong commitments towards ending climate chaos as UN experts revealed that the last seven years have been the hottest on record.

In its annual “state of the global climate” report, launched as the UN summit got under way in Glasgow yesterday, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said that 2021 is likely to have been the fifth to seventh hottest year on record, with sea levels and destructive weather extremes rising to new highs.

WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said that extreme weather events are now the new normal, with mounting evidence that some bear the footprint of human-induced climate change.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the summit must be a “turning point for people and planet,” as pressure mounts on world leaders to keep the 1.5°C target on global warming limit within reach.

“We must act now, with ambition and solidarity, to safeguard our future and save humanity,” he said.

A number of demonstrations took place across Scotland as the summit’s official opening ceremony took place. 

In Edinburgh, a march organised by Extinction Rebellion was joined by hundreds of activists dressed in Halloween costumes, highlighting the horrors of climate change. 

XR activist Mike Grant cited current projections for global warming of 2.7°C, and said: “After 25 years of climate negotiation, this represents nothing less than a massive failure of governance at every level across the world.”

High-profile climate activists gave their backing to the use of direct action during the summit, with a number of protests set to take place over the next fortnight.

Greta Thunberg, who arrived in the city on Saturday night, said she hoped for a positive outcome from the talks.

But she said that governments such as Britain’s are guilty of a pattern of policies which avoid real action, and accused them of failing to prioritise the climate.

Her concerns were echoed by speakers gathered in Glasgow at the Cop26 Coalition’s opening rally.

The coalition’s Camille Barbagallo described the government’s handling of the climate summit as a shambles and promised to call out any “bullshit” from world leaders, as local campaigners, indigenous activists and leading voices from the global South united at the event under the slogan: “The era of injustice is over.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged fellow world leaders to use the Glasgow summit to bring about an end to climate change, pressing them to seize the moment and deliver on the target of ensuring that global temperatures do not rise by more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

“The question everyone is asking is whether we seize this moment or let it slip away,” he said.

“Together we can mark the beginning of the end of climate change, and end the uncertainty once and for all.”

But War on Want director Asad Rehman accused the British government of displaying a blatant disregard for the seriousness of the situation facing the global South, and warned that activists will not accept a half-hearted outcome from Cop26.

“Tomorrow we will have 200 world leaders who will all talk tough on climate,” he said. “What we need is targets, trillions, transformation today.

“We have the policies, we have the plans, we simply lack political leaders with the political will to act. 

“And that is up to us to turn the dial, hold their feet to the fire and make sure no leader can stand in those negotiations and ignore our demands.”

Kevin Mtai of climate group Fridays for Future Kenya said that many activists from the global South have faced difficulty in receiving their visas, meaning that voices from areas most hit by climate change will be missing from the summit. 

He claimed that the lead-up to Cop26 has involved nothing but talk and a lack of promises from world leaders.

Lidy Nacpil, co-ordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, said: “We are in a fight to overhaul the global capitalist and patriarchal system, which is at the root of the climate crisis and multiple crises which drive injustice and inequalities. 

“Today, we pledge to work harder and faster to make system change happen.”

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