The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, said that as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the timely achievement of climate goals was in jeopardy. He said this at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, RMF24 reports.
According to Duda, the climate transition should be rational. He noted that society will ask politicians why energy sources are so expensive, and the standard of living has fallen sharply. "Climate transition, which puts people at the center of transformations, should be cost-effective and serve energy security," he said.
"At the same time, let's not be climate hypocrites. After all, it is easy for the leaders of the rich North to brag about their achievements. But the world has the right to ask where we moved our production. Because if we moved it to non-European countries, we must not forget that our responsibility does not disappear anywhere." . . After all, we ourselves say that the climate is one," said the President of Poland.
Andrzej Duda noted that the transition period is now significantly complicated by "Russia's criminal aggression against Ukraine, which has led to huge human casualties, the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and economy, as well as damage to the environment." The Russian perpetrators should be held responsible for what they have done and pay for these losses, he emphasized.
Duda noted that the consequences of Russian aggression are crises and huge costs, which threaten to delay the climate transition and the achievement of the intended goals. Russian aggression, he said, has also caused additional emissions that exceed those produced in a year by many developing countries.
"To all this, we must react harshly, taking care first of all about people, our fellow citizens, individual consumers of energy resources. We must strive to ensure the final repulse of Russian aggression as soon as possible, increasing our support for Ukraine, our pressure on Russia and our efforts to become less dependent on fossil fuels," said the Polish president.
"Today, more than ever, we need solidarity and coordinated global action. To develop innovative solutions that ensure energy security and climate protection. Which, thanks to research and development, will lead to a technological leap in the direction of the low-carbon transition," he added.