Developed countries asked to cut carbon emissions

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have asked their developed counterparts to commit themselves to cutting down on carbon emission, saying its impact on climate change is more devastating on the LDCs.

Speaking to Malawian journalists in Madrid, Spain on the sidelines of the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (CoP 25), President Peter Mutharika said the LDCs made the request during a round-table dialogue of Heads of State and Government.

At least 36 Heads of State and Government, including six from Africa, attended the conference’s opening ceremony and participated in the dialogue.

Mutharika, whose country is chairperson of the LDCs, said they discussed the plight of LDCs in Africa, Asia, Pacific and the Caribbean region in the wake of climate change.

He said the LDCs noted that they are the most affected by climate change despite contributing about five percent of global emissions.

“Over 90 percent of emissions are contributed by developed countries. So, we asked them to cut down on carbon emissions and promote clean energy.

“I talked about the Least Developed Countries, some are islands and water levels are going up that some islands may disappear. Global warming is real,” said Mutharika.

This year’s climate change conference slated for December 2 to 23 2019, is aimed at assessing progress made in the implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to cut greenhouse gases emissions.

To this effect, Mutharika said the main meetings, to be attended by technocrats, would discuss climate change adaptation and how to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” he said.

In his opening address, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Gutteres said it was pleasing that some countries were working towards meeting zero emissions by 2050.

“I am pleased to see governments and investors backing their way from fossil fuels. A recent example is the European Investment Bank, which has announced that it will stop funding fossil fuel projects by the end of 2021,” he said.