Cortizo joins continental leaders to discuss climate change

President Lorentino Cortizo  joined  the leaders of several  countries of the American continent on Wednesday, September 8, in the High-Level Dialogue on Climate Action in the Americas, a meeting, prior to the COP26 Climate Summit to be held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, November 1 to 12,

Through a virtual platform, the presidents of Colombia, Iván Duque; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, from Costa Rica;; Luis Abinader, from the Dominican Republic; Mario Abdo, from Paraguay and Guillermo Lasso, from Ecuador, agreed to reduce emissions and promote activities that reduce the carbon footprint. Also participating were the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and the United States’ special climate envoy, John Kerry.

Cortizo said that the November conference was “ perhaps the most important meeting since World War II to avoid a catastrophe of global proportions. The commitments made there may be the last chance for future generations, to inherit a healthy planet for life, a great responsibility for us world leaders ”.

He added that “that meeting cannot fail, that is not an option. Panama is one of the only three countries in the world classified as carbon negative, in addition, we recently reached the category of a blue world leader, complying with the initiative to protect 30% of the oceans ”.

Alok Sharma, president of COP26, said that rapid action is required to limit the increase in temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius on the planet, as agreed in the Paris Agreement. “What we need now are actions to reduce emissions globally and protect people and nature from climate change, as well as taking the benefits that moving to green and resilient economies offers,”.

He said that wind power generation plants are cheaper than coal-fired plants and can generate more jobs.

Alberto Fernández, president of Argentina, acted as moderator of the debate.