US climate envoy John Kerry bluntly summed up in one word what the planet needs to avoid a global warming catastrophe: money. The week-long forum exposed fault lines over how to meet those targets at a time when the world faces a costly war in Ukraine, an economic downturn and soaring inflation. Climate financing will be among the core issues to be discussed at the COP28 summit later this year. The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo slams the “hypocrisy” of criticising his country for wanting to exploit fossil fuels for its development.
The annual meeting of the global elite in Davos was a chance for top government officials, CEOs, academics and campaigners to debate how to tackle the climate crisis. Kerry warned that trillions of dollars were needed to speed up the world’s efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The US government is pouring $369 billion dollars into its green energy transition through tax incentives and subsidies for electric cars and other technology under its landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Even so, European industrialists say the EU should step up its game and respond with its own version of the IRA if it wants to remain competitive.
