‘The seas will give us what we deserve’: UN Secretary-General’s stark warning on climate change

The world continues to be hit by global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that small countries are paying the price for big polluters.

We don’t have time. This is the message that the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres sent him into the world. And the outlook for the planet following climate change is bleak, and Major polluters must act before they risk a “global catastrophe” for humanity.

But not only that: Guterres also specified that The losses of the countries that emit the most greenhouse gases will be paid by the entire Pacific region, which, in the words of the UN authority, “is the most vulnerable area in the world.”

At the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in Tonga, António Guterres assured that “There is a huge injustice in the Pacific and that is why I am here.”

“Small islands do not contribute to climate change, but Everything that happens because of climate change is multiplied here.”

Then Guterres issued a stern and alarming warning: “The rising waters will give us our reward.”

This is the situation the world finds itself in, due to climate change caused by humanity and big industries.

Sea
‘The seas will give us what we deserve’: UN Secretary-General’s stark warning on climate change. Photo: Reference.

The worrying global situation due to climate change

A few days ago, the World Meteorological Organization released the State of the Climate in the Southwest Pacific report and reported that The region faces three types of serious consequences: accelerated sea level rise, warming of the ocean and increased acidity of the sea as it absorbs too much carbon dioxide.

And, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , The ocean stores more than 90% of the excess energy trapped in the planetary system. due to greenhouse gases and other factors.

“The reason is clear: “Greenhouse gases, generated mainly by the burning of fossil fuels, are cooking our planet” ” Guterres said. ET, “The sea is literally paying the consequences.”

On the other hand, from what was saved BBC World The United Nations Climate Action Team released the study Rapidly rising seas in a warming worldwhich has reinforced the researchers’ concerns, because it shows that Average sea level is rising “at an unprecedented rate” over the past 3,000 years.

To get an idea, the document explained that Levels have risen an average of 9.4 centimetres over the past 30 years and 15 cm in the tropical Pacific.

Ocean
‘The seas will give us what we deserve’: UN Secretary-General’s stark warning on climate change

UN denounces “injustice” towards small countries due to climate change

As established in BBC World, Guterres visited Tuvalu, a country in Oceania, in 2019. When he returned five years later, he said he saw “real” and worrying changes in sea level rise.

“The problem is that the Pacific Islands also suffer another great injustice: “The international financial instruments that exist to support countries in difficulty were not designed for countries like this.”

For example, he showed that local communities have been waiting for seven years for authorities to make a decision on funding a sea wall, but “the bureaucracy, the complexity, the lack of urgency because it’s a small island, very far away.

“There are promises to increase the money available for adaptation in developing countries, but the truth is that we are far from what is needed, from the solidarity necessary for these nations to exist” Guterres explained.

Pacific Islanders have denounced regional broadcaster Australia: and the fact is that Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country would increase its gas extraction and use “to 2050 and beyond.”

This, despite constant calls from organisations such as the UN to phase out fossil fuels which are the most polluting.

Pollution
‘The seas will give us what we deserve’: UN Secretary-General’s stark warning on climate change

This is why Guterres told the BBC that “There is an essential responsibility of the big polluters.”

And if all countries think like Australia, The world will largely exceed the 1.5°C threshold that had been set in Paris Agreement in 2015 .

This agreement It calls on countries that have signed it to limit their emissions and commit to reducing global warming “well below” 2°C by the end of the century. In Latin America, Pepper Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay, among others, have signed this commitment.

“Only by limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will we have a chance of preventing the irreversible collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, and the catastrophes that accompany it,” the UN Secretary-General warned.

“This means reducing global emissions by 43% below 2019 levels by 2030, and by 60% by 2035.”

Despite promises and agreements, global emissions rose by 1% last year.

In addition, A new NOAA report also highlights the worrying situation the world is going through and which could worsen over the years if measures are not taken quickly.

This is the 34th annual report on the state of the planet’s climate, led by NOAA scientists and published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) It draws on contributions from nearly 600 scientists from 60 countries.

The main conclusion of this report is that “Greenhouse gas concentrations, global land and ocean temperatures, global sea levels, and ocean heat content will reach record levels in 2023.”

“As I speak, we are living in a warming world, and the indicators and impacts are visible across the planet.” assured the director of National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) NOAA’s Derek Arndt.

“The report is another signal for current and future generations.”

Source: Latercera

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