The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petrocanceled his trip to the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference – known as COP29– face “climate collapse” with more than 46,000 families affected by heavy rains and floods. Pedro Sánchez, with twice as many families affected by DANA which devastated the Valencian Communityyes, you will travel to Azerbaijan to participate in this forum.
“I suspended my trip to Azerbaijan for COP29 due to climate collapse. The emergency will be declared and with the limited resources we have, we will deal with first aid and the relocation of climate victims in Chocó”, declared the president of Colombiawhich estimates the number of families affected at 30,000 and indicates that the floods affected 4,337 homes, 18 schools and 1,487 hectares of crops.
On the opposite side, Pedro Sanchez kept his trip to Azerbaijan although, according to the government itself, the number of people affected is double that recorded in Colombia. More specifically, in the immediate intervention plan for the reconstruction of the Valencian CommunityIt is expected that the aid deployed for those affected by DANA will benefit more than 100,000 affected families.
From Moncloa, they defend that Sanchez has attended all meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change since his arrival in Moncloa and they argue that his presence this year at Baku “takes on even more meaning and importance in the face of an urgent challenge for our societies of which Spain has recently suffered the devastating consequences Valence, Castile-La Stain And Andalusia“.
During this event, Pedro Sánchez will participate in a round table on climate financing and the presentation of the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the impact of climate change on health, in addition to participating in the main plenary session with the rest of the world leaders. “This will be an opportunity to defend the need to redouble efforts to avoid the worst effects of climate change,” says the government, recalling that the COP is “the main multilateral forum where decisions are made at the global level in the fight against the climate. change.” “.
Torrential rains in Colombia
Rock declared a situation of “natural disaster” throughout the country due to the torrential rains recorded in recent days, after suspending its trip to COP29 due to “climate collapse” in the South American country. “A disaster situation is occurring throughout the country, due to climate variability which generates unpredictable and unusual impacts, increasing the vulnerability of the territories,” said the president, according to a statement released by the Colombian presidency.
“This vulnerability is aggravated by the impacts linked to deforestation, illicit economies and, in the case of Bogotá, in my opinion, by the uncontrolled urbanization of the Bogotá savannah,” he declared, before adding that the authorities will focus “on the entire national territory.” Thus, he explained that “there are currently impacts in different departments, of varying magnitude”, while emphasizing that efforts will be concentrated on Alta Guajira, Chocó and Bogotaas these areas recorded an impact “on a much larger scale”.
Petro warned that “this rainy season is not yet over, which will last the whole month of December”, before adding that the situation could therefore “occur in other regions of the country”, which “deserves Pay attention to this disaster declaration. In this way, he argued that the measure will allow “to transfer today the nation’s budgetary resources to other entities that have nothing to do with this type of care, to the regions that are the climatic victims of the current situation”.
The Colombian president also announced that this week “a concrete national plan for public investment will be unveiled in these three points – with reference to Alta Guajira, Chocó and Bogotá – and in some places where there are also emergencies.”