The world is at risk of crossing the point of no return on climate change. This would have disastrous consequences for people across the planet and the natural systems that sustain them, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday.
The pledge made by world leaders in the Paris Agreement three years ago to stop temperature rising by less than 2-degree-Celsius and working to keep the increase as close as possible to 1.5-degree-Celsius.
Put simply, we need to put the brake on deadly greenhouse gas emissions and drive climate action.
Namely, Mr. Guterres said that tackling climate change is expensive and could harm economic growth, something that it is not true. He also highlighted the huge economic costs of climate change and the opportunities presented by climate action.
Specifically, he noted that climate action and socio-economic progress are mutually supportive, with gains of 26 trillion dollars predicted by 2030 compared with business as usual.
In fact, climate-resilient water supply and sanitation could save the lives of more than 360,000 infants every year, clean air has vast benefits for public health and in China and the United States, new renewable energy jobs now outstrip those created in the oil and gas industries Mr. Guterres explaine.
Continuing the the United Nations Secretary-General mentioned that the world’s richest nations are the most responsible for the climate crisis, yet the effects are being felt first and worst by the poorest nations and the most vulnerable people.
Finally, Mr. Guterres announced that in September 2019, he will convene a Climate Summit to bring climate action to the top of the international agenda.
The Summit will focus on the heart of the problem, that is the sectors that create the most emissions and the areas where building resilience could make the biggest difference. It will also focus on providing leaders and partners the opportunity to show real climate action and showcase their ambition.
