“Cities are being submerged by the climate crisis”…Oil-producing countries are lukewarm about abolishing fossil fuels

If global warming continues, images of parts of the world being submerged due to rising sea levels have been released, causing shock.

However, oil-producing countries, which are the main culprits of global warming, are lukewarm about abolishing fossil fuels.

Reporter Lee Dong-woo covered the story.

[기자]

Only the upper floors of high-rise buildings in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, are above water.

Havana, Cuba’s famous central square is completely submerged in water, making it difficult to recognize its shape.

Climate Central, a non-profit organization that researches climate change, visualizes images of cities that could change due to the climate crisis.

If the global temperature rises by less than 1.5 degrees, it will not be much different from the present, but if it rises to 3 degrees, sea levels will rise and cities where 800 million people, or 10% of the world’s population, may be flooded, they warn.

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement set a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Island countries are especially worried.

[몰윈 조셉 / 앤티가 바부다 보건부 장관 : 화석 연료의 생산과 소비는 지구 온난화의 주요 원인입니다. 지구 온난화는 작은 섬 개발도상국들에게 재앙적인 결과를 가져왔습니다.]

At the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in the United Arab Emirates, oil-producing countries also shared a sense of crisis.

[술탄 알자베르 / 유엔기후변화협약 당사국총회 의장 : 우리는 화석 연료의 탈탄소를 위해 실질적인 행동을 취하기 위해 매우 열심히 노력해야 합니다. 석유와 가스 산업은 섭씨 1.5도 상승으로 제한하는 북극성같은 목표에 보조를 맞춰야 합니다.]

However, Saudi Arabia and others are taking a negative stance on abolishing fossil fuels, saying they will be with us for decades to come.

Sultan Aljaber, who chaired this meeting, is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation in the United Arab Emirates, so it was controversial from the start.

At this meeting, it was agreed that a damage fund for developing countries affected by climate change would be launched, that renewable energy should be tripled, and that methane emissions, which have a significant greenhouse effect, should be stopped.

However, it is unclear whether advanced conclusions will be reached at this meeting as oil-producing countries are lukewarm on phasing out fossil fuels.

This is Lee Dong-woo of YTN.

Video editing: Lim Hyeon-cheol

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