United Nations: UN chief Antonio Guterres has cited for the second time in a month that the catastrophic floods in Kerala were the grave consequences is a result of inaction over climate change.
Mr. Guteress also cited hurricane Maria that resulted in the killing of almost 3,000 people in Puerto Rico last year calling it one of the deadliest extreme weather disasters in the history of the United States.
“Climate change is the defining issue of our time – and we are at a defining moment. We face a direct existential threat. Climate change is moving faster than we are – and its speed has provoked a sonic boom SOS across our world,” he said while delivering a speech on climate action at the United Nations on Monday.
Kerala floods
UN Secretary-General talked about the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to step up efforts to reverse the course on climate change and referred to the Kerala floods, among other natural disasters across the world.
“Extreme heatwaves, wildfires, storms, and floods are leaving a trail of death and devastation. Last month the state of Kerala in India suffered its worst monsoon flooding in recent history, killing 400 people and driving one million more from their homes,” he said.
Mr. Guterres had also cited the Kerala floods to call on an action plan to prevent such greater climate-related crises and urged to do it as early as possible by warning that climate change was “running faster than we are”.
“Let there be no doubt about the urgency of the crisis. We are experiencing record-breaking temperatures around the world,” he said, adding that according to the World Meteorological Organisation, the past two decades saw 18 of the warmest years since 1850 when records were started.
According to him, this year is proving to be the fourth hottest.
To reverse the course of climate change, Mr. Guterres also warned that the world was at risk by crossing the point of no return over the issue with disastrous consequences for people across the planet and the natural systems that help in sustaining them. He called for good leadership and ambitious plans for the action to be taken.
He further said that it was “were really the bare minimum to avoid the worst impacts of climate change” to pledge by the world leaders in the Paris Agreement three years ago to stop temperature rising by less than 2 degree Celsius and trying to keep the increase as close as possible to 1.5 degree Celsius.
“The mountain in front of us is very high but it is not insurmountable. We know how to scale it,” he added.
“Put simply, we need to put the brake on deadly greenhouse gas emissions and drive climate action,” Mr. Guterres said, calling for a change away from the sole dependency on fossil fuels to opt for a cleaner energy and away from the issue of deforestation to bring the more efficient use of resources.
The UN chief said that such a change in thinking will bring “enormous benefits await humankind.”
“I have heard the argument – usually from vested interests – that tackling climate change is expensive and could harm economic growth. This is hogwash. In fact, the opposite is true,” he said.
In the message, Mr. Guterres highlighted the huge economic costs that the climate change brings to the world and along with that the also mentioned the opportunities that the climate actions bring.
“Climate action and socio-economic progress are mutually supportive, with gains of 26 trillion dollars predicted by 2030 compared with business as usual, if we pursue the right path,” he said, citing the findings of the recent report of Climate Economy from the Global Commission over the issues of Economy and Climate Change.
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