Climate myopia: This year’s CoP was a big disappointment but small surprise
Live MintThe 29th Conference of the Parties to Climate Change came to an end on 24 November 2024 with deep disappointment on the outcomes—not just on finance, but on most other aspects of the agenda. With grossly inadequate mitigation of the crisis, the climate finance that developing countries can legitimately asl for will increase exponentially, leading to continued disappointment from a stressed Western world. More worrisome is the assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that “There are limits to adaptation and adaptive capacity for some human and natural systems at global warming of 1.5° C." So, as the key solution to climate change, why has the world done so poorly on mitigation? Having said that, and notwithstanding the notorious short-termism of businesses, private players must recognize that they’re not immune to the impacts of climate change and must lobby governments for much more stringent climate action, along with a level playing field. A new UNDP report, The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024, reveals that “More than half of people globally said they were more worried about climate change now than last year, and four out of five want their countries to strengthen commitments to address climate change."