‘Do everything in your power to tackle climate change’ UN chief

The session of the UN General Assembly, officially called an interactive dialogue on harmony with nature, brought together Member States and senior officials to discuss the need for urgent action to combat global warming, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit carbon dioxide emissions. well below two degrees Celsius.

In a tweet on Earth Day, UN chief António Guterres said it was vital “every day” to “take better care of our planet. Please, do everything in your power to fight climate change – the defining problem of our time, “he said.

“Climate change is one of the greatest threats to sustainable development in the world,” says the concept note prepared for the meeting of the General Assembly, “and is one of many imbalances caused by unsustainable actions of humanity, with direct implications for future generations “.

The President of the General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, said that taking care of nature is essentially “taking care of people”. She also stressed the importance of respecting the life cycles of the natural world and contributing to biodiversity so that the world can “continue and prosper”.

“We are the last generation to prevent irreparable damage to the planet and its inhabitants,” she tweeted. “We are at the crossroads. This is the moment when we decide the way forward to avoid reaching a point of no return from global warming. We already know the results of inaction. “

The International Day recognizes the collective responsibility, as advocated by the Rio Declaration of 1992, to promote harmony with nature and the Earth in order to strike the right balance between the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations.

It is also an opportunity to raise public awareness of the challenges of the well-being of the planet and the whole life it supports.

Source: United Nations