Dalia Grybauskaitė will attend the UN Climate Change Conference COP24 in Katowice. The key objective of the meeting is to adopt the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement. In addition, COP24 will call on all countries to enact responsible and adequate measures across all economic sectors, to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and to step up support to developing countries.
If no immediate action is taken, climate change could have devastating consequences for the planet. Global warming leads to expanding deserts, reduced areas of arable land, diminishing water bodies, and more frequent extreme weather events. This can become an incentive for military conflicts and migration.
On October 8, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a special report, which specifies that the temperature has already increased by 1°C above pre-industrial levels. Climate change affects ecosystems, species and weather. An overshoot of 2ºC in global warming would result in irreversible changes, including long-lasting droughts, torrential rains and temperature swings.
Climate change is felt in Lithuania, too. Over the past 50 years, the average temperature has increased by 1.2°C. The number of days with heat reaching 30°C has gone up by 3-4 times, and the Baltic Sea level in the Klaipėda Strait rose by 15 centimeters. More frequent weather and climate extremes have a negative impact on health, infrastructure and the economy. The infrastructure may become unable to operate due to excessive fallouts. Extreme weather, such as torrential rains and prolonged droughts, caused the Lithuanian agricultural sector to lose hundreds of millions in 2017 and 2018.
At the Global Climate Change Conference held in Paris three years ago, Lithuania – like all EU countries – took on the commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions at least by 40 percent by 2030. EU member states will have to submit their long-term national strategies on greenhouse gas emissions before 1 January 2020 – which will govern their actions after 2030.
Lithuania is making good progress in fighting climate change. According to the President, Lithuania has demonstrated that economic development and environmental preservation can be successfully balanced. After regaining independence, Lithuania has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by almost 60 percent, while its GDP went up by 30 percent. Lithuania exceeded its 26 percent target in renewables back in 2016. Ambitious climate change mitigation targets are good for Lithuania because they strengthen national energy security, diminish dependence on fossil fuels and promote innovative technologies.
