COP28: Global South confronts urbanization, climate impact

By Yeter Ada Seko

ISTANBUL (AA) - The problems of cities in the Global South hit by the climate crisis were discussed in a panel in Dubai on Friday held as part of COP 28, the UN Climate Change Conference.

Aravind Unni, the moderator of COP 28 Dubai and director of the India-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS), began with a message on Gaza, saying: "First and foremost, I would like to state that we are in solidarity with Gaza and the people of Gaza. We support lasting peace and an urgent ceasefire."

Unni said that by 2050, 80% of the world's population will live in cities, with most of them being people living in global southern countries.

He stressed that problems as part of urbanization are not adequately discussed at COP summits, stating that people living in global southern cities face the consequences of the climate crisis every day.

"We are facing different and new effects of climate change, and we do not know what needs to be done. Global decision-makers are not producing sufficient policies on this matter," he added.

Ajay K. Jha, head of the Indian-based civil society organization PAIRVI, said that enough has been said about the role of cities in the climate crisis but also that the issue has not progressed beyond discussions.

"Although science tells us to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, we are currently in a situation where we can only reduce (them) by 2%,” he said.

"New initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in cities have been launched, especially in European Union countries and the United States, but the world is not only composed of these countries," he said.

- Problems caused by climate crisis drive street vendors towards suicide

Mackenzie Dabre, deputy secretary-general of the National Street Vendors Federation of India, discussed the climate crisis-related problems of street vendors in Mumbai.

Dabre said street vendors had lost both their jobs and health due to extreme weather events such as heatwaves and cyclones, and these climate crisis-related problems led them to despair, pushing some towards suicide.

Priyadarshini Karve, representing the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC), stressed the vital importance of climate change in urban planning.

Elisa Sutanudjaja, the director of Rujak Urban Studies (RCUS), an Indonesian-based environmental and climate-focused civil society organization, said efforts should be made to reduce the impact of climate change on urban transportation in most Asian countries. Sometimes efforts in this area do not go beyond “greenwashing,” or putting an environmental spin on harmful practices, she added.