[The joint letter arrives as a new UN analysis shows "baby steps"
on climate action by nations wont suffice as planet suffers
increasingly dire impacts from the burning of coal, oil, and gas.]
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HUNDREDS OF SCIENTISTS URGE BIDEN TO BACK SPEEDY ‘PHASEOUT OF ALL
FOSSIL FUELS’ AT COP28  
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Jon Queally
November 14, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ The joint letter arrives as a new UN analysis shows "baby steps" on
climate action by nations won't suffice as planet suffers increasingly
dire impacts from the burning of coal, oil, and gas. _

In an aerial view, a car and a pickup truck are seen inside a
sinkhole as another storm created by a series of atmospheric rivers
inundates California on January 10, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.,
David McNew/Getty Images)

 

Ahead of the U.N. climate talks in Dubai later this month, over 650
scientists issued a joint call on Tuesday demanding that U.S.
President Joe Biden prove he recognizes the existential threat of the
climate crisis by backing a "fast and fair phaseout of all fossil
fuels"—meaning coal, oil, and gas—so that other nations can show
equal ambition at the global summit.

With 2023 now on track to be the hottest year in over 125,000 years
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study after study showing that humanity is nowhere near meeting the
emission reduction targets needed to keep temperatures below the
1.5°C target set forth in the Paris climate agreement, the hundreds
of scientists argue that there is no better time for Biden to shift
his leadership on the issue of global warming into a much higher gear.

"We write to you in a year during which the world has witnessed an
unprecedented spate of devastating climate-fueled disasters, alongside
record-breaking global average temperatures and record levels of
atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations," the academics and
researchers wrote in their joint letter
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"As scientists deeply concerned about the acceleration of climate
change and the huge shortfall in efforts thus far to address it, we
call on you to commit to more ambitious actions from the United States
in the lead-up to and at the annual United Nations climate conference,
COP28, in Dubai at the end of this year."

"As scientists across many disciplines who recognize the complex
nature of climate impacts and solutions, we know for certain that
solving this crisis requires significantly more ambitious action
beyond what is being done."

In a new United Nations Climate Change report
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released Tuesday, the UNFCCC warns that the "baby steps" implemented
by most nations of the world—and especially by the leading
polluters—simply are not enough to address the planetary emergency
and that COP28 in Dubai must serve as a "clear turning point" for
world leaders and humanity.

Simon Stiell, the executive-secretary of UN Climate Change, said the
woeful progress documented in the new report means world governments
"must not only agree what stronger climate actions will be taken but
also start showing exactly how to deliver them."

That message is very much in line with what the letter from scientists
tells Biden.

In addition to vowing a rapid and just phaseout of fossil fuels, the
letter calls on Biden to lay out specifically how the U.S. would
implement such a plan and provide a concrete timeline for achieving
it. The scientists say the administration must also "ramp up climate
finance for low- and middle-income nations" to help them achieve a
rapid energy transition; fully operationalize a loss and damage fund
to mitigate the financial costs of extreme weather and other disasters
fueled by warmer temperatures; and also act aggressively to minimize
interference and deceitful greenwashing at COP28 by fossil fuel
interests and other corporate actors opposed to progress.

Addressed directly to Biden, the letter concludes:

We call on you and your administration to make these commitments so
that together, the global community can greatly improve the chances of
preserving a safe and healthy future for people and the planet. The
actions of the United States— as the world's wealthiest nation and
the single largest contributor to historical heat-trapping
emissions—matter greatly. And if our country acts boldly and fairly,
we can unlock greater ambition from other nations. The world is
watching, and this is a crucial moment for the United States to join
with other world leaders and demonstrate genuine progress toward
solving a crisis that is rapidly spiraling out of control.

The letter was signed by notable scientists in various fields,
including Drs. Rose Abramoff, Rachel Cleetus, Belay B. Demoz, Peter
Gleick, Katharine Hayhoe, Gregory S. Jenkins, Naomi Oreskes, Luis E.
Ortiz, Ben Pauli, Nathan G. Phillips, Jorge Ramos, Geoffrey Supran,
Lucky Tran, Aradhna Tripati, Sandra Whitehead, Sacoby Wilson,
Nezahualcoyotl Xiuhtecutli, Gary Yohe, and civil engineer Andrew
Kricun.

"As scientists across many disciplines who recognize the complex
nature of climate impacts and solutions, we know for certain that
solving this crisis requires significantly more ambitious action
beyond what is being done," said Dr. Rachel Cleetus, policy director
and a lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union
of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which helped initiate the letter.

The United States, Cleetus said, "is currently failing to live up to
its responsibility as the wealthiest nation in the world and the
largest emitter of historical heat-trapping emissions. As the climate
crisis unfolds rapidly and with great inequity, world leaders must
step up their domestic and global commitments to meet the moment and
ensure a safer, more just future."

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* UN Climate Change Conference 2023; COP28; Phaseout of Fossil Fuels;
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