Parliamentarians from around the world on Saturday sounded the alarm as carbon emissions are set to hit a new high in 2022, erasing declines achieved during the Covid pandemic.
They warned of the serious consequences of failing to achieve a fossil fuel-free future.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, chairman of the Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Affairs, said: " We can make a huge difference in making this world better for future generations. We have come a long way in just one year. We are now 515 parliamentarians. A network of members."
He called for swift action to build a fossil fuel-free future.
He was speaking at the Parliamentary Meeting at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Egyptian House of Representatives.
Indonesian parliamentarian Marcy Barends said: "The longer we delay climate action, the more expensive it will be to deal with climate change.”
He highlighted the importance of urgent allocation and realignment of budgets for renewable energy.
Egyptian parliamentarian Sahar Albazar said the time had come to phase out fossil fuels and urgently transition to renewables.
He said this would restore power and control over the resources that people, and communities deserve.
"The Philippines is hit by deadly typhoons and hot summers every year, and it's a matter of life and death for us," said Risa Hontiveros, a member of the Philippine parliament
She emphasized that those most responsible for the climate crisis had to bear moral responsibility for the transition to a fossil fuel-free future.
Peruvian Congressman Ed Malaga-Trillo stressed that laws and policies had to be based on the evidence provided by science.
"The challenge is emphasized by the fact that despite calls for climate agreements, dependence on fossil fuels is still not decreasing, even as oil and gas exploration continues in the Latin American region," he said.
The seventh day of the climate summit yesterday was designated as Adaptation and Agriculture Day. A total of twelve sessions on adaptation and agriculture were held. The day-long discussions focused mainly on the adaptation of the agricultural sector to climate change.
Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are projected to increase 1% in 2022, hitting a new record of 37 billion tonnes, scientists announced at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.