PR91666

Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan and other members of the Scotia Group declare "diplomatic emergency" and call on COP 26 summit to deliver rapid, permanent emissions reductions to avoid a "climate tragedy"

LONDON, Sept. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The Scotia Group made up of current and former diplomats, judges, lawyers,

mediators, policy experts, academics, politicians, businesspeople, and

community leaders today published an open letter to UN Secretary-General

António Guterres declaring a "diplomatic emergency alongside the climate

emergency".

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1625860/The_Scotia_Group_Logo.jpg

Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, the Patron of the Scotia Group, said:

"If COP 26 cannot deliver rapid, permanent emissions reductions and the ability

of citizens to enforce the promises their governments make, Scotia Group

members question the purpose of further climate COPs."

Howard Covington, the Chair of the Scotia Group Inception Commission, added:

"This is a rapidly gathering international crisis. Promises for action in the

distant future are not a sufficient response. We may already need the

continuous emergency diplomacy that is used in times of such crisis."

The Scotia Group is proposing four ways COP 26 can bring real urgency into

addressing the climate crisis:

    -- China and the US should seize this opportunity to act together for the

       good of humanity and agree to both a phased programme to close their

       existing coal-fired power plants, or to retrofit them with carbon

       capture technology, and a ban on the financing and construction of new

       coal plants.

    -- There is an urgent need for an energy transition diplomacy

       framework. Saudi Arabia should lead OPEC in halting new investment in

       additional oil production, a policy the US should support.

    -- Governments should both commit to facilitating a global $1 trillion

       energy transition fund to accelerate progress in cleantech investments

       and deliver on the $100 billion a year already promised by richer

       countries to poorer countries.

    -- An efficient and robust mechanism should be established to hold

       nations, institutions, companies, and communities accountable through

       domestic courts for the environmental pledges they have made.  

Notes to Editors

1. Howard Covington is also Chair of the Alan Turing Institute and of

ClientEarth. A full list of Scotia Group members can be found here

(https://www.scotiagroup.org/members ).

2. The Scotia Group Statement of Urgency can be found here

(https://montf.com/ScotiaGroupSoU ).

3. The Scotia Group has hosted virtual 'Climate Majlis' dialogue sessions

exploring a range of subjects relating to climate action and the rule of law

with leading global institutions including, Harvard University, Oxford

University and the International Bar Association. Further information can be

found here (https://quraysh.com/scotia-group-dialogues/ ).

SOURCE  The Scotia Group