Scientists Concerned Over US' Stark Absence At Key Climate Change Meet In China, After Paris Withdrawal
The US withdrawal from IPCC efforts may lead to decrease in financial support for the UN body, which brings world’s best scientists together to assess the latest science on climate change.
After pulling out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the United States (US) is now conspicuous by its absence at the 62nd Plenary Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underway in China. This is being viewed as another setback to global climate action, since the US remains the biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, and bears the responsibility to lead climate action.
IPCC is the United Nations (UN) body set up in 1988 to assess the latest science related to climate change. The crucial five-day long meet underway in Hangzhou, China will review key parts of its Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), including draft outlines for the three Working Group reports. It will also consider the draft outline for the Methodology report on Carbon Dioxide Removal and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Technologies.
related stories
The delegates representing the panel’s 195 member governments will also consider the respective timelines and budgets for these four reports. IPCC Chair Jim Skea called it a “pivotal session for the delivery of the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report." The reports are important as they bring the world’s top scientists to assess the latest research on climate change, and guide policy action for governments worldwide.
However, according to local media reports, the US State Department officials are not likely to attend the meeting, leaving the scientists concerned. The IPCC however, is yet to confirm.
“The US withdrawal from key IPCC efforts – closing its technical support unit, reducing participation in the next assessment cycle, and slashing financial support will weaken global cooperation at a time when stronger commitments are urgently needed. For India and South Asia, the stakes are high," said Roxy Matthew Koll, Lead Author of IPCC AR5 and AR6 Reports and scientist, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
The Least Developing Countries (LDCs), a crucial bloc of countries, also issued a statement highlighting that “any backtracking will be taken for politicization of science at the expense of vulnerable countries," and all member countries must come together to provide timely input into the multilateral climate process.
Scientists highlight that the IPCC assessments are a bedrock of informed climate policy. “It is deeply unfortunate that US scientists are facing barriers to participating in the ongoing meetings where the outlines for the next assessment cycle are being finalized. Science does not know borders, and when scientists cannot attend such deliberations due to political reasons, we all lose collectively," remarked Dr Aditi Mukherji, Coordinating Lead Author, IPCC AR6 Working Group II.
The latest action follows US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement – a decision taken by the newly-sworn in President Donald Trump, also a climate-denier on his first day in office this January. Though the exit will take at least a year to come into effect, it remains up to President Trump if he wants to send delegations to meetings or participate in any events related to the Agreement, according to experts.
At present, the US remains part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but the previous order intends to severely limit participation including funding and may not send delegations to the Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings. The consequences are serious, especially in small and developing countries, which have contributed the least to global emissions, but continue to bear the brunt of climate change-driven disasters.
“Every nation, including the US, benefits from a unified scientific approach to address this crisis. We must keep negotiations alive, foster transparency and also ensure that climate action is grounded in data and not in politics," said Anjal Prakash, Research Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business who has just been nominated as lead author of IPCC’s upcoming report on Cities and Climate Change.
Dr Joyce Kimutai, Attribution Scientist at Imperial College London Centre for Environmental Policy is however hopeful that all other parties would continue to collaborate and align their interests to strengthen the IPCC. “I am confident that other countries and regional blocs will step in to take leadership, ensuring the work of the IPCC in making available the best and latest climate change science proceeds without disruption," he added.
- Location :
- First Published: