Photo: COP28 / Mahmoud Khaled
COP28: Wars are devastating for people, their environments and ecosystems, and are a serious obstacle to mitigating the climate crisis
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, is leading the Slovenian delegation at this year's 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), where world leaders met today in plenary. At the plenary session, the President of the Republic stressed the importance of respecting the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement and the impact of military conflicts on the environment, which is a serious obstacle to mitigating the climate crisis.
Dubai (United Arab Emirates), 1 Dec 2023
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Today, the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, attended the opening ceremony of the COP28 and participated in the plenary session of Heads of State and Government. In her keynote speech at the Heads of State and Government Plenary, she recalled that countries, including Slovenia, are experiencing disasters related to climate change, including floods, droughts, fires and hurricanes. These extreme and rapidly changing weather patterns are a wake-up call for much more resilient adaptation to the effects of climate change and for strict compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement.
President Pirc Musar therefore advocated maintaining the target of limiting the average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. She based her call on three concrete proposals: (1) phasing out fossil fuels; (2) tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency, which is also advocated by the EU; and (3) developing resilient and sustainable nature-based adaptation measures. "Nature is our best ally in fighting climate change," she stressed.
On the occasion of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the President of the Republic also highlighted the emergence of a new set of human rights in response to the effects of climate change around the world: the right to a clean and healthy environment, the right to water and the right to clean air.
President Pirc Musar was very clear at COP28 – the green transition must include the most vulnerable and respect the principle of climate justice, and she announced that Slovenia is committing EUR 1.5 million to the newly established Loss and Damage Response Fund.
The President placed particular emphasis on conflicts and their impact on the environment, which is a serious obstacle to mitigating the climate crisis. "There are numerous, far too many, armed conflicts around the globe. These wars are deadly primarily for the people affected, but not only for them, also for their environment and ecosystems. Gaza today is a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and an ecological disaster. As is Ukraine. As are all the other conflicts around the world. Every conflict takes its toll not only on the civilians – it also severely compromises their environment. Should we not be asking ourselves every single day what is going to bring us, humanity, a better future?" the President of the Republic of Slovenia urged world leaders, stressing that the only truly meaningful fight is against the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. President Pirc Musar feels that people have a legitimate expectation that she, as their directly elected representative, will lead them to a better future, and she called on world leaders to do the same.
The President of the Republic also attended a high-level side event organised by Slovenia to reflect on the importance of the right to a clean and healthy environment, which has recently become a universal human right at the initiative of Slovenia and like-minded countries. She informed the participants that it is now essential to enforce this right and informed them that the competent institutions in Slovenia have recently completed their preparations for a two-year project to integrate sustainable development and climate awareness into formal school curricula.
At the opening of the water pavilion, the President of the Republic underlined Slovenia's position that water is an indisputable human right and a public good that cannot be replaced – locally and globally. "We have made it the cornerstone of our diplomacy and international response to the triple planetary crisis," she said, also paying tribute to women who play a central role in water issues. Slovenia is part of a multi-stakeholder coalition to promote gender equality in water, and the world needs strong partnerships to strengthen women's participation and leadership in water and climate.
The President of the Republic concluded the first day of the Conference as a guest at a gala dinner hosted by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Emir Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in honour of world leaders, the Heads of Delegations of their respective countries.
