The UN believes that the climate events impact has reached a critical point
A joint press conference by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and General Assembly President, María Fernanda Espinosa, at the launch of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) statement was held at the UN headquarters in New York. This is reported by the UN press service.
During the WMO Statement launch, High-level meeting on Climate and Sustainable Development was held.
“It is necessary to act, and to act now. We are at a critical point. We have only 11 years to change the vector of our path. It is necessary to achieve changes both in the over-consumption and in the production sector,” María Fernanda Espinosa said at the meeting.
This dramatic speech of the General Assembly President is confirmed by the alarming findings in the UN World Meteorological Organization's Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2018. According to the Statement, in 2018, most of the natural hazards which affected nearly 62 million people were associated with extreme weather and climate events. Floods continued to affect the largest number of people.
Last year, the United States alone saw 14 weather- and climate-related disasters where the devastation cost more than $1 billion each, with a total of some $49 billion.
Heat waves and wildfires in the U.S., Japan and Europe in 2018 killed more than 1,600 people. Super typhoon Mangkhut killed at least 134 people and impacted 2.4 million, mostly in the Philippines and other Asian countires.
According to WMO experts, out of the 17.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), over 2 million people were displaced due to disasters linked to weather and climate events. Drought, floods and storms (including hurricanes and cyclones) are the events that have led to the most disaster-induced displacement.
The Statement also notes that climate change has emerged as a significant threat to planet’s ecosystems, firstly, the marine ecosystem that leads to reduced levels of oxygen in the oceans. A number of plant and animal species are endangered.
Exposure of the agriculture sector to climate extremes is threatening to reverse gains made in ending malnutrition. New evidence shows a continuing rise in world hunger after a prolonged decline, according to data compiled by United Nations agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme. In 2017, the number of undernourished people was estimated to have increased to 821 million.
Speaking at the launch of the report, United Nations used the findings to call for serious decision making from world leaders at the Climate Action Summit due to take place in New York on 23 September. In this context, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Heads of State to attend his climate action summit and achieve positive change. “Don’t come with a speech, come with a plan,” he said.
It would appear, taking into account “another strong wake-up call” over global climate events, its solution is simple and ingenious, like antiquity. At the beginning of this article, we quoted María Fernanda Espinosa, that “it is necessary to achieve changes both in the over-consumption and in the production sector”. So, to solve climate issues, humanity only needs to consume less and produce less.
Well, it would seem that if it is a matter of life and death, then it could be done. However, it is not as simple as it looks. What should do – to consume less and to produce less?
It is logical that those who consume the most should consume less, and those who produce the most should produce less. That is, the rich, industrially developed countries, so-called the golden billion. It is true at least, because if poor countries in the world where population is barely making ends meet would consume less and produce less, and then it would be of little use to the climate.
“Less produce” can be discussed somehow, while less consume is a question of questions. At the same time, these two issues are closely interrelated.
According to some data, the average level of consumption in Western Europe, compared to developing countries, is four times higher. Thus, states should keep down their appetites in consumption and production in proportion to their negative impact on nature and climate. Otherwise it would not work.
Climate Action Summit in September would show if countries of the world, primarily the rich one, in the name of future generations, would be able to defeat their egoism. Otherwise, as María Fernanda Espinosa said, we are at a critical point and we have only 11 years to change something.
We would say that there is a very little time ahead, simply because we do not want to say that there is no time almost.
Nury AMANOV
