STA, 1 November 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša highlighted the need to create a realistic path to implement the goals from the Paris climate agreement as he addressed the World Leaders Summit, a high-level political event held in Glasgow as part of the ongoing COP26 climate conference.
Moving away from coal and oil is a key element in reaching the set goals, and nuclear energy could replace fossil fuels as a transition source of energy, Janša said.
He stressed it was urgent to act to limit climate warning. "It is high time to create a realistic path to the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal," he was quoted by his office.
As the presiding EU country, Slovenia makes efforts towards this goal, yet the EU, contributing just 8% of global CO2 emissions, cannot solve the problem on its own.
He thus urged all countries to produce their offers saying that "everyone must take their share of responsibility to ensure that our common efforts are effective".
"Our goal is to reduce emissions by 55% until 2030 and we are making efforts to modernise our climate and energy legislation," Janša said.
However, he stressed that the common measures are by far not enough to reach the goals set at the Paris climate conference in 2015.
"By the UN's estimate, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 will be by 16% higher than it was in 2010."
Janša also said he understood hesitation, so he stressed that "our efforts must not endanger social cohesion and economic development".
He believes that "technological and political innovations will enable finding new ways to implement all the three set goals".
He said more investment in new technologies is needed to develop cleaner, safer and more efficient energy, such as energy from hydrogen or fusion.
Slovenia remains firmly committed to reach the common goals with a realistic approach. "We have adopted a long-term strategy which sets the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and the path to it."
Janša moreover urged all countries to contribute to the best of their abilities, and concluded by saying: "Let's make sure that this summit is a success."
On the sidelines of the two-day world leaders summit, Janša held several bilateral meetings, including with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
He also met Indian PM Narendra Modi, European Council President Charles Michel, Czech PM Andrej Babiš, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, Maltese PM Robert Abela, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, among others.
The prime minister, who will end his visit to Glasgow on Tuesday, is also scheduled to meet some other world leaders, and IAEA boss Rafael Mariano Grossi.
