Erika Bjerström has covered UN climate summits since 2007.
As the discussions at COP28 now enter the final stages, a new agreement is expected soon. The ambition is for such a document to be written after each climate meeting. The most famous, and most important, is the Paris Agreement from 2015.
Why is the Paris Agreement so important?
– It is the very basis for the countries promising to do something to slow down climate change. It was historic when it was written because then all countries agreed to take the researchers’ results seriously – that we are frying this planet with our carbon dioxide emissions, says Erika Bjerström.
What happens if a country violates the Paris Agreement?
– The agreement is not structured so that it is based on sanctions. Large emitting countries, such as the USA, are careful not to put any blame on individual countries. There have been demands from countries in the third world that countries should pay money if they violate the goals of the agreement, but there the US has said no.
Why does the UN hold annual climate meetings?
– The climate crisis is a problem that affects us all, but for which we are also all guilty to varying degrees. The countries agree on that, and we must therefore deal with it together.
If you can violate the climate agreements without being sanctioned – then what is the purpose of these meetings?
– You can see the UN negotiations as a kind of floor – you agree on the basis. Then it is up to each country to be brave and lead the way, otherwise nothing will happen. But now that it is so polarized in the world, this is the only meeting where all the countries of the world sit down and talk to each other. I think it’s quite beautiful that people agree that we have a common problem and that we can only solve it together.