QUOTES - COP27: What are they saying at the Climate Summit?

World leaders, policymakers and delegates from nearly 200 countries are at the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Egypt, where they hope to keep alive a goal to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Here are some of the latest comments by those attending:

United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres

“Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible.”

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”

IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva

“Unless we price carbon predictably on a trajectory that gets us at least to $75 average price per ton of carbon in 2030, we simply don’t create the incentive for businesses and consumers to shift.”

United Arab Emirates President, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan

“The UAE is considered a responsible supplier of energy and it will continue playing this role for as long as the world is in need of oil and gas.”

William Ruto, President of Kenya

“The lengthy discussions at COPs with its stalling, delaying tactics and procrastination, that have hampered implementation and delivery is simply cruel and unjust. We cannot afford to spend more time skirting around the real issues, and we must break out of the open ended process-focused discussions we are trapped in.”
“In the face of impending catastrophe, whose warning signs are already unbearably disastrous, weak action is unwise. No action is dangerous.”

READ: Egypt lists protest actions banned during COP27

Macky Sall, President of Senegal and Chairperson of the African Union

“Even if Africa contributes less than 4 per cent of greenhouse gases, it subscribes to frugal development of carbon, resilient to climate change, for a goal of carbon neutrality in a reasonable timeframe. We are for a green transition that is equitable and just, instead of decisions that jeopardise our development, including universal access to electricity to which 600 million Africans remain deprived.”

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados

“How do companies make $200 billion dollars in profits in the last three months and not expect to contribute at least 10 cents in every dollar of profit to a loss and damage fund. This is what our people expect.”

Former US President, Al Gore

“We have a credibility problem all of us: We’re talking and we’re starting to act, but we’re not doing enough.”

“We must see the so-called ‘dash for gas’ for what it really is: a dash down a bridge to nowhere, leaving the countries of the world facing climate chaos and billions in stranded assets, especially here in Africa.”

“We have to move beyond the era of fossil fuel colonialism.”

Emmanuel Macron, President of France

“Even if our world has changed, the climate issue cannot be a balancing item of the war unleashed by Russia on Ukrainian soil (…) We will not sacrifice our commitments to the climate due to the Russian threat in terms of energy so all countries must continue to uphold all their commitments.”

Faustin Archange Touadera, President of Central African Republic
“We should say clearly the rich countries – the top polluters – are the ones who are most to blame for endangering humanity.”

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