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UN chief urges all countries headed to COP27 to prioritize climate action

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday (October 3) called on all countries to make climate action the global priority, the Xinhua reported.
The UN chief told journalists at the UN headquarters in New York that all countries, led by the G20, can demonstrate that "climate action truly is the top global priority" as government representatives begin finalizing the agenda for the COP27 (the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) next month.
COP27 will take place in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, from Nov. 6-18.
Guterres said: "A third of Pakistan flooded. Europe's hottest summer in 500 years. The Philippines hammered. The whole of Cuba in black-out. And here, in the United States, Hurricane Ian has delivered a brutal reminder that no country and no economy is immune from the climate crisis."
He underscored the importance of COP27, while warning that the collective commitments of the G20 leading industrialized nations are coming "far too little, and far too late."

"The actions of the wealthiest developed and emerging economies simply don't add up," he said, pointing out that current pledges and policies are "shutting the door" on limiting global temperature to 2 Celsius degrees, let alone meet the 1.5 Celsius degrees goal.
Guterres warned that "we are in a life-or-death struggle for our own safety today and our survival tomorrow," saying there is no time for pointing fingers or "twiddling thumbs" but instead, "a quantum level compromise between developed and emerging economies" is required.
"The world can't wait," he said. "Emissions are at an all-time high and rising."
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While pursuing their own "drop-in-the-bucket initiatives," international financial institutions must overhaul their business approaches to combat climate change, he said.
Meaningful progress must be made to address loss and damage beyond countries' abilities to adapt as well as financial support for climate action, said the UN chief.
Decisions must be made now on the question of loss and damage as "failure to act" will lead to "more loss of trust and more climate damage," he said, describing it as "a moral imperative that cannot be ignored."
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COP27 is "the number one litmus test" of how seriously governments take the growing climate toll on the most vulnerable countries, according to Guterres.
"This week's pre-COP can determine how this crucial issue will be handled in Sharm al-Sheikh," he said, noting that the world needs clarity from developed countries on the delivery of their 100 billion U.S. dollars pledge to support climate action in developing countries.
Environment ministers from some 50 countries gathered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday for the pre-COP27 climate talks, with rich countries expected to come under pressure to contribute more to fight global warming.
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Moreover, adaptation and resilience funding must represent half of all climate finance; multilateral development banks "must raise their game;" and emerging economies need support to back renewable energy and build resilience, said the top UN official.
He said that while the Resilience and Sustainability Trust led by the International Monetary Fund is a good start, major multilateral development bank shareholders must be the driving force for transformative change.
The secretary-general said: "On every climate front, the only solution is solidarity and decisive action."
Source: xinhua
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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