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Sturgeon: Cop27 ‘crucial’ to saving planet for future generations


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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is at Cop27 in Sharm El-Sheikh (Jane Barlow/PA)

The Cop27 climate conference in Egypt is “crucial” to saving the planet for generations to come, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Ms Sturgeon said that while last year’s Cop26 conference in Glasgow was a good foundation to build on, it will only count if the commitments made there are implemented.

The First Minister is at Cop27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, where she will take part in an all-female panel discussion on financing decarbonisation with government leaders, including the prime minister of Barbados.

She will encourage the message from Glasgow’s Cop26 conference last year to be delivered, which commits to reducing the usage of coal and advocates financing the shift to net zero.

I think this Cop is an opportunity for the global north and the global south to come together and have a proper grown-up conversation about how we make progress
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

Speaking from Cop27, she told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “I think Glasgow was a success, we didn’t get everything that had been hoped for going into Glasgow but I think the feeling coming out of Cop26 was that it was a good foundation to build on.

“It will only count if it is implemented, the commitments around keeping 1.5 degrees alive, the commitments around climate finance, mitigation, adaptation, crucially loss and damage, that now has to be implemented and this Cop here in Egypt is all about implementation.

“So what happens here over the next couple of weeks is absolutely crucial now to our chances of keeping 1.5 alive and, to be blunt about it, saving the planet for generations to come.”

Ms Sturgeon will also meet representatives from countries in the global south region to hear their experiences of the climate crisis and what they want to see delivered at the climate talks.

The First Minister said that there is an obligation on richer countries that have largely caused climate change to help those suffering the impacts.

She told the BBC: “I think this Cop is an opportunity for the global north and the global south to come together and have a proper grown-up conversation about how we make progress.

“We’ve got to mitigate climate change, we’ve got to help countries adapt to the impact of climate change but as we’ve seen over the past year, not least in Pakistan, there are many parts of the world that are suffering loss and damage now that is irreversible and can’t be mitigated against.

“And there is an obligation in the spirit of solidarity for the richer countries that have largely caused climate change to now make a big effort to help those dealing with the impacts address that.”

Scotland became the first developed nation to commit to finance that addresses loss and damage, with other countries, such as Denmark, following suit.

The Scottish Government pledged £2 million from the Climate Justice Fund to fund the project.

In a statement earlier on Monday, Ms Sturgeon said: “Cop26 in Glasgow delivered real progress on tackling the climate crisis, with strengthened commitments to curb emissions, build resilience to climate change and provide the finance needed to reach net zero.

“World leaders must use the next two weeks to take meaningful steps to deliver on the promises made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

“We are gathering against a tense backdrop and the geopolitical landscape has changed significantly in the last year, not least as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“However, the climate crisis has not gone away and the answer to many of the global crises we face, such as energy security and food shortages, lies in going faster.

“For many countries, particularly in the global south, this must be the Cop where the global north not only deliver on our promises to finance adaption and mitigation, but recognises the need to address the loss and damage experienced by countries already impacted by climate change.”

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