On the second anniversary of the Paris climate agreement, government leaders are meeting in Paris for the One Planet Summit, convened by French President Macron, the World Bank and the United Nations.
Brandon Wu, Director of Policy and Campaigns at ActionAid USA, said:
“Despite the hype, the One Planet Summit is delivering little for the world’s people who are the most vulnerable to climate change. People in poor countries already living with increasingly severe hurricanes, floods, and other disasters made worse by the climate crisis, need commitments for real money from rich countries.
“Many of the announcements being made in Paris are welcome – especially the World Bank announcing it will stop financing oil and gas projects. But even without Donald Trump, who was pointedly not invited, rich countries continue to pretend that new schemes for businessmen to increase their profits will be the center of the solution for the poor.
“Let’s be clear: the world’s most vulnerable people will not be served by big companies pushing the latest technologies or insurance packages. We had hoped that the absence of the Trump administration would spur other countries to more genuine climate action. Unfortunately, this has not been the case so far.
“Hunger, displacement and poverty caused by climate change will only get worse in 2018. Governments, especially those from rich countries, must start taking the crisis seriously before we lose our chance for a just and sustainable world.”