On Wednesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized "the alms" given by rich countries to the Global South to confront the climate crisis.
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"It is thought that the climate crisis will be overcome if the North gives alms to the South. The major discussions at the COP have revolved around this issue, as happened with the US$100 billion promised in Paris in 2015. However, such paradigm of cooperation no longer works," he said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland.
"International cooperation crashes against the reality of the global civilizational crisis. This happens because the amounts required to solve a global problem are vastly superior to US$100 billion per year," Petro said at the panel "Addressing the North-South Schism."
Next, the Colombian president explained that the possibility of truly solving the global climate crisis goes far beyond international cooperation.
To confront the global climate crisis, Petro said it is necessary to turn off "the CO2 chimneys" in the North so that the forests do not burn in the South.
"When appreciating the problem from an economic and technological perspective, the North has to transform itself to be able to sustain the life of the planet as a whole," he said and emphasized the need for a climate pact among equals.
"A year ago, this forum coined the term 'Policrisis.' Today, this has worsened because, through the bombing of children, the war has turned into a genocide," the Colombian president said in reference to the Israeli offensive against Gaza.
"Votes in the United Nations on this issue have physically and politically separated the North from the South," Petro said, recalling that Europe and the United States have voted against solutions to the Palestinian problem.