UN: The planet is on the edge of the abyss

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned this Thursday about VI. UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) that the planet “on the edge of the abyss” due to environmental crises.

“Our planet is on the brink. Ecosystems are collapsing,” Guterres said in a video shown at the opening of a high-level segment of UNEA-6, the world’s main environmental decision-making body, held in Nairobi.

“Our climate is imploding and humanity is to blame. The consequences, from poisoned rivers to rising seas, affect us all,” the Secretary-General warned, noting that “those who are least responsible suffer the most,” which he described as a “burning injustice.”

In the fight against this crisis, Guterres advocated “working together (…) to put the world inside sustainability path and accelerate sustainable development”.

“This means taking urgent measures to accelerate the just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, adapt to extreme weather conditions, achieve climate justice, control pollution, and protect and restore ecosystems,” he emphasized.

Therefore, countries “must set national targets to meet this framework”, i.e. “create new contributions at the national level for the whole economy before 2025 that are consistent with limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius”.

“Together we need governments to create a new agreement on plastic pollution and massively increase funding for sustainable development and for climate and biodiversity action in developing countries,” he added.

In a message to UNEA-6 leaders, including Kenyan President William Ruto and other African heads of state, as well as numerous ministers from around the world, Guterres urged countries to “meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

“There are many important decisions ahead of you, so take advantage of this opportunity promote multilateral solutions. Let’s make the spirit of Nairobi work again,” he concluded.

UNEA-6 brought together more than 5,000 representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector at the UN complex in the Kenyan capital from last Monday to this Friday, according to the UN Environment Program (UNEP). , with headquarters in this capital.

At this year’s session, the sixth since the Assembly was launched in 2014, countries must evaluate around 19 resolutions covering challenges such as halting desertification, curbing air pollution or limiting chemical pollution.