High time to fast-track climate efforts as humanity on thin ice: UN Chief Guterres
Mar 21, 2023
New York [US], March 21 : United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres on Monday in a video message said that it is high time to fast-track the climate efforts as humanity is on thin ice in the present times.
He made the remarks at the press conference to launch the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday and underlined to ramp up climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe, the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq said in an official statement.
"He warned that humanity is on thin ice -- and that ice is melting fast. He said that the latest IPCC report is a survival guide for humanity and a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe," the UN statement read.
The Secretary-General also outlined a strategy to accelerate work towards the Climate Solidarity Pact that he had previously proposed to the G20.
The statement added that the plan asks leaders of developed countries to commit to reaching net zero as close as possible to 2040 and to end all international public and private funding of coal.
According to the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), In urban areas, observed climate change has caused adverse impacts on human health, livelihoods and critical infrastructure.
The report highlighted that due to global warming, the hot extremes have intensified in cities. Urban infrastructure, including transportation, water, sanitation and energy systems have been compromised by extreme and slow-onset events with resulting economic losses, disruptions of services and negative impacts on well-being.
"In all regions increases in extreme heat events have resulted in human mortality and morbidity. The occurrence of climate-related food-borne and water-borne diseases (very high confidence) and the incidence of vector-borne diseases have increased," the report read.
Moreover, the report based on data and statistics observed how human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with the global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020. Global
greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries, and among individuals.
"Climate change has reduced food security and affected water security, hindering efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goals," the synthesis report of IPCC read.
