Commonwealth agrees to accelerate efforts to keep global temperatures to 1.5C

The 53 leaders of the Commonwealth have agreed to work harder on keeping global temperatures to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The official communique from the group, issued after a week of high-level discussions in London, stated their “renewed commitment under the Paris Agreement to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius” and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees below pre-industrial levels. The statement also recognised the threat of climate change, especially to small-island nations, many of whom are Commonwealth members.

Leaders expressed their “grave concern that without urgent action to mitigate climate change, reduce vulnerability and increase resilience, the impacts of climate change could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030.” 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) convenes 53 nations, mostly taken from the former British Empire, for a biennial discussion on pressing issues of the day.  

Religious leaders had earlier in the week called for leaders to “turn words into action” on climate change during the summit. 

Sustainability was a strong theme throughout the group’s discussions, which ranged from the need to scale-up green financing, sustainable energy use and sensitive economic development of the oceans. The declaration also “expressed deep concern about the increasingly devastating impact of natural disasters on people and property across the Commonwealth.”

Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji who led the UN’s climate negotiations as President of COP23, said he was “pleased” the Commonwealth has reaffirmed its commitment to climate action.

"We look forward to their support in the year ahead as we work together to raise our ambition to meet the most demanding target of the Paris Agreement, which is to keep the average global temperature increase to within 1.5 degrees above that of the pre-industrial age," he added.

 

Photo Credit: Foreign Office