János Áder, the Chairman of the Blue Planet Climate Foundation and former President of Hungary, emphasized the indispensability of adapting to the altered climate and hydrological conditions during the Water and Climate Leaders’ meeting, a side event connected to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change summit (COP 28) in Dubai.

Following the proceedings online from Budapest, Áder stated that the goals previously articulated by the committee were accurate. Recognizing that 80 per cent of the effects of climate change are felt through water, it was appropriate to highlight the need for the integration of climate, meteorological, and water databases and the establishment of a global hydrological information system.

Áder underscored the timeliness of the committee’s work, referencing the recent report from the Copernicus Institute, revealing that on 17 November, for the first time in the post-industrial era, the Earth’s surface temperature had risen by 2 degrees Celsius. He asserted that everything previously outlined as objectives reinforces the inevitability of adapting to the changing climate and hydrological conditions.

In his remarks, Áder commended the work of his Hungarian colleague, Csaba Kőrösi, who, as an expert, supported him during his presidential term. According to Áder, Kőrösi continued to prioritize the issue even after being elected President of the UN General Assembly, placing the topic of climate change at the centre of UN thinking. Áder credited Kőrösi for playing a significant role in the success of the water conference convened during the spring UN General Assembly.

As of today, Kőrösi serves as the Strategic Director of the Blue Planet Climate Foundation, as mentioned by Áder, who also extended an invitation to participants of the COP28 climate conference to the Sustainability Expo scheduled to take place in Budapest in approximately two years.

What is COP?

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the ‘Earth Summit’, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the summit the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was launched. Ever since, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP) has convened member countries every year to determine ambition and responsibilities, and identify and assess climate measures. The 21st session of the COP (COP21) led to the Paris Agreement, the signatories of which pledged to work towards limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, and to act to adapt to the already existing effects of climate change.

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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/MTI