<\/p>\n
The divisions emerged during the United Nations (UN) General Assembly\u2019s High-Level Week, where climate-vulnerable countries demanded faster action while energy producers supported more gradual transition pathways. \u201cA future beyond fossil fuels is in sight. The question is how?\u201d UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guterres urged governments to adopt national transition plans with clear timelines and protection for affected workers and communities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pacific island countries issued some of the strongest calls for urgency as rising seas threatened territory, livelihoods and sovereignty.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cA much accelerated transition away from fossil fuels is the only logical response,\u201d Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said. \u201cContinued investment in fossil fuels is not only immoral but irrational.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tuvalu called for a \u201cfast, fair, just and orderly transition\u201d alongside reductions in methane and carbon dioxide emissions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, several energy-producing countries warned that rapid changes could undermine affordability, jobs and economic development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nigeria rejected what Vice-President Kashim Shettima described as a \u201cfalse choice between development and climate action\u201d. Nigeria\u2019s transition plan combines renewable energy and clean cooking with natural gas as a transitional fuel, targeting net-zero emissions by 2060.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia called for realistic pathways that did not exclude energy sources, while Brazil pledged to continue oil exploration alongside decarbonisation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Other countries presented the transition as an economic opportunity. Lesotho launched a Just Energy Transition Fund intended to expand renewable capacity, increase energy independence and create employment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Portugal said renewables generated more than 70% of national electricity and brought forward the carbon-neutrality target to 2045.<\/p>\n
Financing remained another major division.<\/p>\n
Nepal called for grants rather than additional debt, warning that climate disasters repeatedly destroyed infrastructure and erased development gains. \u201cClimate finance must not become a bureaucratic maze through which vulnerable countries spend years proving that they need help,\u201d Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli said.<\/p>\n
Seychelles said adaptation, emissions reduction, technology transfer and loss-and-damage financing were legal obligations rather than charitable support.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Small island countries also demanded recognition that statehood, borders and maritime rights would survive rising seas. \u201cThe sea does not negotiate. It does not read communiqu\u00e9s. And it does not recognise a veto,\u201d Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Several leaders called for the next climate summit to focus on implementation. \u201cWe have the solutions. We know what is required. Now we need to deliver,\u201d Denmark said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40957,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-47386","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"World leaders remain divided over how quickly to abandon fossil fuels, who should finance the transition and how developing economies can protect growth and energy security.","published_date":"","news_description":"World leaders remain divided over how quickly to abandon fossil fuels, who should finance the transition and how developing economies can protect growth and energy security.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47387,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47386\/revisions\/47387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=47386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}