UN: Atlas of human suffering
Climate report makes case of an Earth in grave danger
Published:Tuesday | March 1, 2022 | 12:09 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was scathing in his review of policymakers and government officials, describing the findings of the latest Inter-Governmental Panel Climate Change (IPCC) report as an “atlas of human suffering” and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.
The report, he said, revealed that the Earth’s population is getting clobbered by climate change, with nearly half of humanity living in the danger zone.
“I have seen many scientific reports in my time, but nothing like this,” Guterres lamented during his presentation on Monday to the opening ceremony on the IPCC’s press conference to present the Summary for Policymakers of the report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.
“Many ecosystems are at the point of no return now, and current pollution is forcing the world’s most vulnerable on a frog march to destruction,” he said.
“The facts are undeniable. The world’s biggest polluters are guilty of arson on our only home,” he declared, adding that private-sector interests still financing coal must be held to account. He served notice on oil and gas giants, as well as their underwriters.
“You cannot claim to be green while your plans and projects undermine the 2050 net zero target and ignore the major emission cuts that must occur this decade,” the secretary general said.
According to Guterres, commitments on global emissions are set to increase almost 14 per cent over the current decade and this spells catastrophe, as it will destroy any chance of keeping alive the goal of restricting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Declaring that coal and other fossil fuels are choking humanity, he charged G20 governments that have agreed to stop funding coal projects abroad, that they must now urgently do the same at home and dismantle their coal mines.
“Fossil fuels are a dead end for our planet, for humanity, and, yes, for economies. A prompt, well-managed transition to renewables is the only way to energy security, universal access, and the green jobs all the world needs,” said Guterres.
“Investments in adaptation work. Adaptation saves lives as climate impacts worsen, and they will. So scaling up investments will be essential for survival. Adaptation and mitigation must be pursued with equal force and urgency.”