Developing nations 'must be considered'

Senior UN official urges Glasgow climate summit to put priority on poor countries

The United Nation's development chief has said the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow must focus on the needs of developing countries following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, ahead of the opening of COP26 in the United Kingdom on Sunday, Achim Steiner, the executive director of the UN development program, said: "For developing countries at this juncture, a sense of recognizing their dilemmas is extremely important. They do not need to be told that climate change is important, that everybody has to do more.

"They are under severe stress in the midst of this pandemic, of economic regression, of growing poverty rates. It is critical that the UK is able to echo the genuine and legitimate concerns that developing countries articulate."

The summit would be deemed a success if the financial concerns of poor countries are prioritized, he added.

"COPs have succeeded when no group of countries had a reason to feel they were overlooked, ignored or dismissed. Inclusiveness is critical. There are countries that feel they were promised financial support and it has hardly materialized. Knowing those sensitivities is part of being well prepared," he told the paper.

More than 120 world leaders, along with 25,000 delegates, including negotiators and journalists, are expected to take part in the summit, which runs until November 12. It is estimated tens of thousands of campaigners and businesses representatives will also be there to hold events, to network, and to protest, said the BBC.

Participating nations will be expected to sign up to a declaration of commitment on plans to reduce emissions at the end of the conference.

Developing countries experience some of the worst effects of climate change and need money to help reduce their emissions, says the UN.

"Accelerating a climate implementation plan requires additional investment, and that money is simply not easily found," said Steiner. "Recovery (from the COVID-19 crisis) can actually happen faster, (if you) create jobs with green transitions, but you still need capital to invest, whether private, public or concessional."

The Guardian noted that in 2009 poor countries were promised $100 billion a year from the private and public sector sources of the richest nations by 2020, but this goal has not been met. However, the target is still achievable by 2023, said a recent report, the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, commissioned by the UK as host of COP26.

"In the midst of a trillion dollar emergency pandemic response mode, it kind of is difficult to stomach for many developing countries that a promise made in 2009, repeated in 2015, is still not fulfilled," said Steiner.

The summit would be a disappointment if developing countries were not given the assurances they required, and its success depends on how the UK as host can cultivate constructive discussion among participating nations, he said.

He added: "There has to be some palpable sense of shared purpose and unity. Is there a sense of common purpose, or are divisions going to define all the signals and symbolisms of Glasgow?"