Ukraine’s climate change urgency: Rishi Sunak

• The war in Ukraine requires speedier climate action.
• 120 leaders are discussing climate change solutions.
• Compensation and aid for the worst-hit countries are crucial.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the UN climate summit COP27 that the war in Ukraine requires speedier climate action.

“Climate and energy security go hand-in-hand,” he remarked in his first foreign appearance since taking office.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 120 leaders are discussing climate change solutions.

Compensation and aid for the worst-hit countries are crucial.

“Climate change shouldn’t be slowed by Putin’s abominable conflict in Ukraine and rising energy prices. They spur action, “Mr. Sunak.

“There definitely is hope,” he continued.

Leaders urged rich countries to continue fighting climate change despite the Ukraine war and global financial crisis in a series of addresses.

Climate change-affected nations described the dire consequences of increased heat, drought, and floods.

“We are on a path to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the meeting.

Former US vice-president and environmentalist Al Gore agreed that nations must “stop subsidizing the culture of death” of fossil fuels.

Macron passionately called for climate justice.

In Egypt, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned against “becoming weak and shaky” on climate action.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called renewable energy “a security policy priority,” while Italy’s new prime minister Giorgia Meloni said her country was “fully committed” to climate targets.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden will join his climate envoy, John Kerry, at the summit.

After accusing the UN of “green-washing,” Swedish activist Greta Thunberg skipped the meeting.

Xiye Bastida, a 20-year-old activist from Mexico, is there to remind decision-makers that “nature must be conserved”.

She told BBC News she’s delighted with efforts so far in Egypt – including having the terms “loss and harm” on the agenda. The words relate to money – as some type of compensation or reparations – for the effects of climate change on developing countries that did little to cause the situation.

But 24-year-old Mikaela Loach, from Scotland, said she’s scared leaders are not truly committed to climate action that prioritizes justice or human rights.

“Not all climate solutions are good for people. We must focus on people and the world we’re creating, not just pollution” BBC News.

Barbados PM Mia Mottley talked of “horror and the devastation wrought upon this Earth” last year.

“Whether the cataclysmic floods in Pakistan, or the heatwaves from Europe to China, or indeed in the last few days in my own region, the damage wrought in Belize by tropical storm Lisa, or the devastating rains a few days ago in St Lucia. No need to repeat, “remarked.

The summit’s location in climate-vulnerable Africa was reiterated throughout the day.

“Further delay would make us busy spectators as tragedy rips out lives and livelihoods,” Kenyan President William Ruto said.

He said 700 million Africans will be uprooted by 2030 owing to water scarcity.

Tuesday will witness comments from the leaders of a number of other poor countries which are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.

The Alliance of Small Island States’ Gaston Browne and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif will speak.

The UN warned that our planet is “sending a distress signal” as COP27 began on Sunday.

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