UN Chief Warns Of 'Point Of No Return' On Climate Change
Source: US News
MADRID (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that the world's efforts to stop climate change have been "utterly inadequate" so far and there is a danger global warming could pass the "point of no return."
Speaking before the start Monday of a two-week international climate conference in Madrid, the U.N. chief said the impact of rising temperatures -- including more extreme weather -- is already being felt around the world, with dramatic consequences for humans and other species. He noted that the world has the scientific knowledge and the technical means to limit global warming, but "what is lacking is political will." "The point of no return is no longer over the horizon," Guterres told reporters in the Spanish capital. "It is in sight and hurtling toward us."
Delegates from almost 200 countries will try to put the finishing touches on the rules governing the 2015 Paris climate accord at the Dec. 2-13 meeting, including how to create functioning international emissions trading systems and compensate poor countries for losses they suffer from rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.
Guterres cited mounting scientific evidence for the impact that man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are already having on the planet, including record temperatures and melting polar ice. But he insisted that his message was "one of hope, not of despair. Our war against nature must stop and we know that that is possible." -More...
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-12-01/un-chief-warns-of-point-of-no-return-on-climate-change
The U.N. chief said he hoped the meeting in Madrid this week and next would see governments make more ambitious pledges ahead of a deadline to do so next year.
He also said that creating a worldwide market for emissions, which is a key element of the sixth article of the Paris accord, remained one of the most contentious issues for negotiators. "We are here to find answers for article 6, not to find excuses," Guterres said.
Planners of the event expect around 29,000 visitors, including some 50 heads of state and government for Monday's opening, as well as scientists, seasoned negotiators and activists during the two-week meeting.
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- More, In Depth: Common Dreams,
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/01/decrying-utterly-inadequate-efforts-tackle-climate-crisis-un-chief-declares-our-war
.."Our war against nature must stop," he declared. "And we know that that is possible. The scientific community has provided us with the roadmap to achieve this."
.. As coal, gas, and oil production continues, "climate-related natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more deadly, more destructive, with growing human and financial costs," Guterres pointed out. "Drought in some parts of the world is progressing at alarming rates destroying human habitats and endangering food security. Every year, air pollution, associated to climate change, kills seven million people. Climate change has become a dramatic threat to human health and security."
Guterres called for ensuring that $100 billion dollars is available for developing countries to use for mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis...
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a news conference at the COP25 summit in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019. This year's international talks on tackling climate change were meant to be a walk in the park compared to previous instalments.
But with scientists issuing dire warnings about the pace of global warming and the need to urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions, officials are under pressure to finalize the rules of the 2015 Paris accord and send a signal to anxious voters.
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