Sayed Talat Kamal from Durban, South Africa, reported that developing countries are expressing concerns that they are prioritizing climate change as a more critical global crisis compared to wealthy nations. Specifically, the US is being criticized for its slow progress on important climate change issues. Delegates at the UN Climate Summit in Durban, as well as European representatives and the leader of the African bloc, have condemned the US's stance. Mali delegate Seyni Nafo stated that developed countries, including the US, are not treating climate change with the seriousness it deserves on a global scale. Nafo called for the US to demonstrate the same level of leadership in addressing climate change as it does in promoting democracy, human rights, and market access. The EU's chief negotiator, Arthur Runge-Metzger, expressed concerns about the US delegation being hindered by domestic opposition to climate change. He acknowledged that the Obama administration faces challenges moving forward on climate change due to the situation in Congress. The US is seen as delaying negotiations by pushing for conditions that would legally require all countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, which has slowed progress on raising funds for developing low-carbon economies and addressing the impacts of global warming in poorer countries. Climate change is caused by greenhouse gases trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere, leading to rising global temperatures and resulting in more extreme weather events such as cyclones, floods, and droughts. It is widely agreed that a temperature increase of over 2 degrees Celsius would cause irreversible climate change. Global studies supported by the United Nations and the scientific community suggest that in order to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees, global emissions need to be reduced to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2020 and to 95 percent of 1990 levels by 2050. It is crucial that emissions do not peak after 2015. Rather than implementing a binding target, the United States prefers voluntary pledges from countries to control emissions to the best of their ability. The US has committed to reducing its emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, a promise that Jonathan Pershing, the US delegation chief, believes will not change in the near future. Runge-Metzger, however, argues that even if these voluntary pledges are combined, they would only amount to about half of what scientists recommend to prevent a potential climate crisis. In his nation's first statement, Rene Orellana, leader of the Bolivian delegation, strongly rejected the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Redd) initiative, which aims to use financial incentives to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Orellana emphasized that Bolivia does not support Redd, stating that forests serve purposes beyond just storing carbon, such as providing food security, water resources, and biodiversity for indigenous communities who rely on them. Redd stated that the forest's function is often reduced to just carbon stocks. Orellana criticized certain aspects of the Green Climate Fund, specifically payments tied to the outcomes of green initiatives. Despite recent political instability in Bolivia, the country has remained steadfast in its environmental stance at the 17th conference of parties to the UN climate change convention. This year, Bolivia passed groundbreaking legislation granting nature the same rights as humans. Scientists project that heat waves, which currently occur every 20 years, will become an annual occurrence due to rising greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Furthermore, coastal regions and islands are at risk of being flooded due to the effects of global warming. Additionally, within the next ten years, approximately 250 million individuals could potentially encounter water shortages. Advocates for climate action suggest that maintaining stable carbon levels in the atmosphere would only slightly hinder economic growth by 0.12 percent annually. They emphasize that any associated costs would be counterbalanced by enhanced health, increased energy security, and more reliable food sources.