Environment & Energy

Rhiannon12866

(205,319 posts) Sat Apr 25, 2020, 01:34 AM Apr 2020

Climate change: World mustn't forget 'deeper emergency'

Despite the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the world mustn't forget the "deeper environmental emergency" facing the planet.

That's the view of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in remarks released to celebrate Earth Day.

The toll taken by the virus is both "immediate and dreadful", Mr Guterres says.

But the crisis is also a wake-up call, "to do things right for the future," said the Secretary General.

Mr Guterres re-iterated his view that the coronavirus is the biggest challenge the world has faced since the Second World War.

But as the world commemorates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the planet's "unfolding environmental crisis" is an "even deeper emergency", he says.

"Biodiversity is in steep decline," Mr Guterres stated.

"Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return.

"We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption."

A long-term advocate of strong action to tackle global heating, Mr Guterres is now proposing six climate-related actions that should shape the recovery after the virus.

The world has to deliver new jobs and businesses through a "clean, green transition".

Taxpayers' money, when it is used, "needs to be tied to achieving green jobs and sustainable growth".

Money must be used to make people and societies more resilient to climate change, he says.

"Public funds should be used to invest in the future not the past."

Fossil fuel subsidies from governments is a theme that Mr Guterres has highlighted many times. These must end he says, and polluters must pay for their pollution.

The world will need to work together, says the Secretary General, and climate risks will need to be factored into the financial system and be at the heart of all public policy.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52370221