Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has distracted world governments from efforts to combat climate change, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message played at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Tuesday. | Reuters
Ukraine is hosting an exhibition space this year for the first time at a UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. But unlike the other booths at COP27 that are festooned in colorful logos, flags and greenery, Ukraine’s stood out for its bleakness – covered in gravely grey to symbolize the war at home.
In his video appearance, Zelenskiy wore a trademark green T-shirt and faced the video camera from behind a desk. He criticized world leaders for paying lip service to climate change without delivering real change. He did not name individual states. “There are still many for whom climate change is just rhetoric or marketing … but not real action,” he said. “They are the ones who hamper the implementation of climate goals, they are the ones in their offices who make fun of those who fight to save life on the planet, although in public they seem to support the work for the sake of nature.” “They are the ones who start wars of aggression when the planet cannot afford a single gunshot because it needs global joint action.”Members of Ukraine’s delegation to COP27 said they hoped their presence drew global attention to the climate and environmental consequences of Russia’s February invasion.“It’s important to show the situation in Ukraine,” said Svitlana Grynchuk, the country’s deputy environment minister. “We also try to think about … our climate-neutral and environmentally friendly future.” Grynchuk described renewable energy projects destroyed in the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops, and offered a hopeful note on what’s to come: “We have a lot of plans for rebuilding our country. It will be greener.”The CEO of Ukraine’s biggest private power producer DTEK, said at COP27 on Tuesday that half of his company’s green energy capacity was now located in Russian occupied territory. Overall, the country has “lost about 90% of wind capacity, which is on occupied territory, and about 30% of solar” in the fighting, Maxim Timchenko said. He expressed concerned about the encroaching cold season, saying: “It will be one of the most difficult winters in the history of Ukraine. We should be realistic.” He said DTEK had managed to “quickly” restore a power station damaged in the fighting and reconnected it to the grid. “We do all preparations so that we will survive.” DTEK is a partial sponsor of Ukraine’s exhibition center at COP27, where decorations included a tree trunk that delegates said had been scarred by shrapnel in the city of Irpyn. At the entrance to the exhibition, an elaborate display showcased dozens of Ukrainian soil samples, meant to represent the potential of the country’s fertile land. Julia Guziy, with the Ukrainian non-profit Ecoclub, said she had taken a bus and multiple flights to get to COP27 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.Her group hoped to raise money for solar power plants at six Ukrainian hospitals, she said.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Across Asia, bikers greet Cop27’s opening in Egypt - BusinessMirrorCYCLING enthusiasts and ordinary people joined climate campaigners in 49 coordinated biking events in nine Asian countries as the COP27 climate summit began Sunday in Egypt. COP27 is being held at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18. Pedal for People and Planet was held in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Read more »
Hunger striker's sister flies in to Egypt COP27 to campaign for his releaseAlaa Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence with Egypt's 2011 uprising but has been detained for most of the period since. He has been on hunger strike for 220 days against his most recent detention and prison conditions. COP27
Read more »
COP27: We're on a highway to climate hell, UN chief saysUnited Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt on Monday, November 7, they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe.
Read more »
At COP27, climate ‘loss and damage’ funding makes it on the table - BusinessWorld OnlineSHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Warned that mounting economic crises should not delay action on increasingly obvious global warming threats, climate negotiators agreed at United Nations (UN) talks on Sunday to start discussions on a funding plan to help climate-hit countries cope with surging losses. As the COP27 climate summit opened in Egypt, UN climate chief […]
Read more »
PH should build bilateral ties at COP27THE 27th annual Conference of State Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP27, opened this week in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and...
Read more »