Chiemelie Ezeobi
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has raised the alarm that nearly half of humanity was living in the danger zone at the moment with the ecosystems at the point of no return.
The Secretary-General, who made this statement at the launch of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, said unchecked carbon pollution was forcing the world’s most vulnerable on a frog march to destruction.
Sternly warning that the abdication of leadership to the environment was criminal, he blamed the big polluters whom he said are guilty of arson of the planet.
The 2022 IPCC report assessed the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels.
The report also reviewed vulnerabilities and the capacities and limits of the natural world and human societies to adapt to climate change.
Expressing concern that he has, “seen many scientific reports in my time, but nothing like this,” Guterres added that, “today’s IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.”
He added: “With fact upon fact, this report reveals how people and the planet are getting clobbered by climate change. Nearly half of humanity is living in the danger zone – now.
“Many ecosystems are at the point of no return – now. Unchecked carbon pollution is forcing the world’s most vulnerable on a frog march to destruction – now.
“The facts are undeniable. This abdication of leadership is criminal. The world’s biggest polluters are guilty of arson of our only home”.
Stressing that it was essential to meet the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, Guterres noted that, “Science tells us that will require the world to cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“But according to current commitments, global emissions are set to increase almost 14 per cent over the current decade.
“That spells catastrophe. It will destroy any chance of keeping 1.5 alive. Today’s report underscores two core truths.
“First, coal and other fossil fuels are choking humanity. All G20 governments have agreed to stop funding coal abroad.”
However, he said they must now urgently do the same at home and dismantle their coal fleets, adding that, “those in the private sector still financing coal must be held to account.
“Oil and gas giants – and their underwriters – are also on notice. You cannot claim to be green while your plans and projects undermine the 2050 net-zero target and ignore the major emissions cuts that must occur this decade.
“People see through this smokescreen. OECD countries must phase out coal by 2030, and all others by 2040. The present global energy mix is broken.”
Guterres further lamented that, “as current events make all too clear, our continued reliance on fossil fuels makes the global economy and energy security vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and crises.
“Instead of slowing down the decarbonisation of the global economy, now is the time to accelerate the energy transition to a renewable energy future.
“Fossil fuels are a dead end – for our planet, for humanity, and yes, for economies.”
On the way out, he said, “a prompt, well-managed transition to renewables is the only pathway to energy security, universal access and the green jobs our world needs.
“I am calling for developed countries, Multilateral Development Banks, private financiers and others to form coalitions to help major emerging economies end the use of coal.”
