Climate protestors in Brussels demand urgent action amidst UN climate conference

Climate protestors in Brussels demand urgent action amidst UN climate conference

In Brussels, 20,000 protestors rallied, braving the cold as the Belgian climate activist group, Climate Coalition, urged politicians and leaders to urgently address the impact of climate change. While this year's protest was smaller than the previous one, it coincided with the United Nations' COP 28 climate summit in Dubai, delivering a clear message to global leaders to uphold their "climate commitments." The march, themed "Every tenth of a degree counts," occurred as COP 28 aimed to tackle the challenge of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Within the ongoing conference, several countries made financial pledges to support the loss and damage fund, aiding low and middle-income nations in confronting climate change. The United Arab Emirates pledged $100 million, Germany committed a matching $100 million, the UK allocated £40 million for the fund and an additional £20 million for related initiatives, Japan contributed $10 million, and the US pledged $17.5 million.

Despite these financial commitments, the UN Environment Programme's 2022 Emissions Gap Report underscores the pressing need for a "rapid transformation" in addressing climate change. The report outlines the "inadequate" progress toward achieving the emission reduction targets essential for meeting the temperature goals set by the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, members of the G20 are falling behind in implementing their Nationally Determined Contributions, the post-2020 measures aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.