Military Space News
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Papua New Guinea to boycott 'waste of time' UN climate summit
Papua New Guinea to boycott 'waste of time' UN climate summit
by AFP Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Oct 31, 2024
Papua New Guinea on Thursday declared a boycott of next month's UN climate summit, branding the global warming negotiations a "waste of time" full of empty promises from big polluters.

While plenty have criticised the annual COP summit in the past, it is rare for any government to so totally dismiss the UN's premier climate talks.

"There's no point going if we are falling asleep because of jet lag because we're not getting anything done," Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told AFP ahead of November's COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.

"All the big polluters of the world promise and commit millions to assist in climate relief and support. And I can tell you now it's all going to consultants."

The island of New Guinea is home to the third-largest expanse of rainforest on the planet, according to the World Wildlife Fund, and has long been celebrated as one of the "lungs of the earth".

Impoverished, flanked by ocean, and already prone to natural disasters, Papua New Guinea is also considered to be highly vulnerable to the unfolding perils of climate change.

"COP is a total waste of time," Tkatchenko said.

"We are sick of the rhetoric as well as the merry-go-round of getting absolutely nothing done over the last three years.

"We are the third-biggest rainforest nation in the world. We are sucking up the pollutants of these major countries. And they are getting away with it scot-free."

- 'Talk fest' -

The COP summit in 2015 hammered out the landmark Paris Agreement, under which almost every country in the world has agreed to slash emissions to limit soaring global temperatures.

But subsequent gatherings have been dogged by growing criticism, stoked by a perception that big polluters are using their sway to limit further climate action.

Meanwhile, adaptation funds set up through COP to help developing nations have been accused of sluggish bureaucracy that fails to grasp the urgency of the crisis.

Civil society groups banded together last year to urge a boycott of the COP summit hosted by the United Arab Emirates, claiming the meeting would "greenwash" the petrostate's poor climate credentials.

Underwhelmed by proposed emissions cuts, dozens of African nations led a temporary walkout of developing nations during the 2009 COP talks in Copenhagen.

And Ukraine has pressed its allies to avoid this year's summit if Russian leader Vladimir Putin shows face.

But Papua New Guinea is among the first nations to have voiced such a full-throated call to boycott the COP summit altogether.

"Why are we spending all this money going to the other side of the world going to these talkfests," said Tkatchenko.

- 'No traction' -

Papua New Guinea is one of five Pacific nations involved in a pivotal International Court of Justice case that will soon test whether polluters can be sued for neglecting their climate obligations.

Low-lying Pacific nations such as Tuvalu could be almost entirely swallowed by rising oceans within the next 30 years.

Tkatchenko said the decision to pull out of COP talks had been applauded by others within the Pacific bloc.

"I'm speaking up on behalf of the smaller island states that are worse off than Papua New Guinea. They were getting no traction and acknowledgement at all."

Papua New Guinea would instead seek to strike its own climate deals through bilateral channels, said Tkatchenko, flagging that negotiations were already under way with Singapore.

"With like-minded countries like Singapore, we can do 100 times more than COP.

"They have a big carbon footprint, and we would like to think about how they can work with Papua New Guinea to fix that up."

A key meeting ahead of COP29 ended in frustration earlier this month, with countries making little progress on how to fund a new finance deal for poorer nations.

COP -- or conference of parties -- is the top United Nations climate change conference, an annual summit in which nations look to determine legally binding climate commitments.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Lancet calls for urgenet shift in fossil fuel investment to tackle climate health impacts
London, UK (SPX) Nov 01, 2024
The Lancet: Health threats of climate change reach record-breaking levels, as experts call for trillions of dollars spent on fossil fuels to be redirected towards protecting people's health, lives and livelihoods The 8th annual report from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveals unprecedented global health risks as climate change drives new records in extreme weather and temperature. The report, compiled by experts from 57 academic institutions and UN agencies, found that in 2023 ... read more

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Millennium Space Systems secures contract for additional Missile Track Custody satellites

Advanced US missile system 'in place' in Israel: Pentagon

RTX Raytheon SM-3 Block IIA missile reaches full-rate production

US missile battery deployment deepens role in Israel-Iran conflict

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Iran says missile production unaffected by Israel strikes

Australia launches plan to build long-range guided missiles

US approves $2 bn arms sales to Taiwan including missiles

Seven dead in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Sceye works with NASA and USGS to monitor climate change from the stratosphere

Unmanned System Test Island commences operations in Suzhou, China

Israel army says drone that hit southern city was launched from Yemen

Firm showcases world's largest unmanned cargo drone

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Gilat secures $5M in US Defense SATCOM orders

Gilat secures $4M contract with DoD

SDA Selects AST SpaceMobile and Muon Space for HALO Program to Enhance Proliferated LEO Capabilities

Eutelsat Group launches 20 OneWeb satellites to expand LEO Network

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Croatia pledges to buy up to 50 Leopard tanks from Germany

Northrop Grumman advances airborne deep sensing and targeting for US Army

Lockheed Martin and Altera complete key electronic warfare demonstration for DoD

Pentagon announces $400M in new round of military arms support for Ukraine

CLIMATE SCIENCE
French court overturns ban of Israeli companies at defence trade fair

Iran moves to triple military budget amid Israel tensions

Russia approves near 30 percent rise in defence spending

UK and Germany sign 'milestone' defence deal

CLIMATE SCIENCE
NATO deputy chief visits Croatia amid political rift over Ukraine

'System is broken': Blinken says Congress holdups aid US rivals

US welcomes India, China efforts to lower border tensions

Indonesia's Prabowo to visit China, US on first foreign trip: report

CLIMATE SCIENCE
New Technique Enables Mass Production of Metal Nanowires

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.