President Ader: Paris conference ‘not the end of the road’ in climate talks

Paris, December 1 (MTI) – The Paris conference is “not the end of the road” but rather an important milestone in climate talks, President Janos Ader said on the sidelines of the UN’s 21st climate conference near Paris on Tuesday.

Ader told MTI that anyone who hoped that the two-week meeting will solve every problem was overly optimistic and will be left disappointed.

“That is not what we [Hungary] are expecting [from the conference]. We want to end the political sluggishness that characterised the past few years, … and we want the most polluting countries to agree on further steps that need to be taken which can then be implemented,” the president said.

Ader noted that unlike at previous conferences, on Monday, some 150 world leaders agreed on the seriousness of the threats posed by climate change and on the need to counter them in time.

The president said it has become clear to everyone that the warning signals of climate change, like natural disasters, droughts, floods, rising sea levels and the increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, cannot be ignored.

Ader said national governments and international organisations will all need to take political responsibility and support the “climate revolution”.

He said developed countries should admit their responsibility for their contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions and compensate developing countries, as they too wish to achieve a standard of living that developed countries have. If developing countries do not receive enough financial support to make use of the latest technological developments, then their only option for producing energy will be turning to fossil fuels, Ader added.

Ader called on the United States and the European Union to open a 100 billion dollar credit line to support technological change in developing nations.

“We do not know how the conference will end, as there are still 10 days to go. But it is a good sign that some countries have stepped up their prior commitments,” Ader said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters