CLIMATE SCIENCE IS NOT A HOAX, DON'T GAMBLE

SIR ROBERT WATSON'S BLUNT MESSAGE TO CLIMATE BLOCKERS

- SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA @Nairobi

AS the seventh UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) wrapped up its closing plenary on Friday, the world's top environmental body emerged from one of its most politically fraught weeks in recent memory.

UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) was adopted after acrimonious negotiations, key resolutions — including one on environmental crime and sea bed ecosystems — were withdrawn, and blocs led by major fossil-fuel producers repeatedly sought to weaken language on the energy transition, chemicals, plastics and circularity. In the final hours, the United States positioned itself as the principal blocker, with its representative declaring that Washington was “stepping back” from parts of the process and objecting to what it described as overreach in both the language and scope of UNEP’s mandate.

All this is happening against the warnings of the newly released Global Environment Outlook 7 (GEO-7), the UN’s most authentic state-of-the-planet assessment, which concludes that the world is not remotely on track to meet its environmental goals.

Against this backdrop, TNIE sat down with Sir Robert Watson, one of the most influential environmental scientists and co-chair of GEO-7. In a rare, candid conversation, Watson spoke about the scale of the crisis, the political barriers that continue to obstruct action, and the narrow window the world still has to change course.

Excerpts:

Several governments blocked the Summary for Policymakers (SPM). What exactly transpired?