“We know what is happening to our planet. We know what we need to do. And we know how to do it. But sadly, the ambition is nowhere near enough.”
Warning of a real threat to humanity, the U.N. chief says climate change is moving faster than we are.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded urgent action from world leaders in a speech at the U.N.’s New York headquarters. He called climate change the most important issue of our time.
The speech comes after worldwide #RiseforClimate protests. More than 250,000 people marched around the world to demand action. Mr. Guterres warned “If we don’t change course by 2020, we risk runaway climate change. This is the point when human action will be pointless. The consequences for humans will be disastrous.
Researchers from around the world continue to raise the alarm about the impacts of climate change.
Recent reports have described how climate change makes extreme weather more likely. The warming Arctic could cause the summer weather over North America, Europe and Asia to stall. This could cause extreme heat, wildfires, increased rain and sea level rise.
Scientists have been warning us for decades. Far too many leaders have refused to listen. ‘Dear. Friends, we know what is happening to our planet. We know what we need to do. We know how to do it. Sadly, our actions are not sufficient.
Mr. Guterres called the Paris climate agreement the ‘bare minimum‘,. He accused states of not doing enough to meet these goals.
In more positive news, Mr. Guterres highlighted the divestment movement. This movement involves city mayors around the world divesting money from fossil fuel investments. He urged world leaders to attend a New York climate forum he has organised for September 2019. The forum will discuss progress on the Paris goals.
Watch the full speech: