Obama tells COP26 countries must ‘act now’ to help poor nations tackle climate change
Global News
"We have to act now to help with adaptation and resilience," Obama said at the COP26 meeting is Glasgow.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama threw his support behind those on the frontline of global warming on Monday, calling for action by rich nations to end years of deadlock with developing countries over cash for climate change.
At the start of the second and final week of the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow known as COP26 – ministers got down to the detail of trying to honor promises to pay for losses and damages, and to address how to help nations adapt to the effects of climate change.
“We have to act now to help with adaptation and resilience,” Obama told a meeting of island nations at the summit, adding that his views on the immediacy of the threat had been shaped by his experience growing up in Hawaii.
The failure of rich nations to make good on promises to provide help for developing countries has fueled mistrust, and is seen as a major obstacle to progress in cutting emissions to limit the devastating impact of global warming.
Online activist network Avaaz released a video showing Obama had made the same call for action not words to help poor nations as long ago as 2009, but with few results in the ensuing years.
“Everyone knows what is to be done,” said Kenya’s Environment Minister Keriako Tobiko. “There have been too much and too many workshops, retreats and conferences. And it is always ‘the time is now’ ‘the time has come’. Actually there’s no more time, let’s put the money on the table.”
At a U.N. climate summit 12 years ago in Copenhagen, rich nations promised to hand developing countries $100 billion a year by 2020 to help them adapt to climate change.
The target was missed, and at COP26 richer nations have said they will meet the goal in 2023 at the latest, with some hoping it could be delivered a year earlier.
A new poll finds there is growing support for a proposal to lower an Old Age Security (OAS) threshold for some Canadians in order to help reduce the federal government's deficit.
Canadian and American government officials discussed a proposed revival of the canceled Keystone XL oil pipeline during a meeting in Houston, Tx. this week.
This will apply to all workers in federally regulated industries such as air transportation, banking, most federal Crown corporations, ports and telecommunication, among others.
International immigration to Canada is slowing but newcomers still helped six Atlantic cities grow more than the national average last year.
Rising fuel costs stemming from the Iran war are starting to impact small and medium-sized businesses in Canada, according to the latest survey findings.
The bill, known as DRIPA, requires B.C. to take "all measures" to align the rights of Indigenous Peoples with existing provincial legislation.
Montreal Metropolitan Airport says its new terminal will open in a few months as it gets ready to welcome commercial flights.
Nominations have officially opened for drivers to rank Ontario's worst roads.
Dashcam video shows the wild scene as a vehicle crashed into two parked cars at a high speed on Shaunslieve Drive in Bedford.
City of Wetaskiwin officials have issued a statement on the decision to ban Mayor Joe Branco from city hall — but it does little to clarify the ongoing situation.
An Abbotsford woman who was sexually abused as a child is speaking out after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her stepfather, starting at the age of just 12 years old.
Technology Minister Nate Glubish says such images, known as deepfakes, can cause people serious harm and that changing the law should create a new layer of protection.
Renters in Quebec may soon have final say over whether they're allowed to keep pets in their homes following a legal ruling that no-pet clauses in leases violate Charter rights.