The UN Secretary General never so harsh: Stop treating Nature like a toilet
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was categorical: «It’s one minute to midnight on that Doomsday Clock and we need to act now».
The sense of urgency is conveyed even more forcefully by the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, who points out how «the time to act… is yesterday».
However, it is perhaps UN Secretary General, António Guterres, by definition and necessity a master of balance, who conveys the strongest message: «Enough of treating Nature like a toilet. Enough of burning, and drilling, and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves».
The only good news from the first day of the Conference of Parts is that India announced a net-zero emissions target by 2070.
It may occur as less ambitious than the similar commitment made by the EU for 2050; however, it must be considered that India is responsible for one-third of world average per capita emissions, is a developing nation, is demographically expanding, and its energy production is coal-dependent.
These reasons mean that President Narendra Modi’s statement is considered by many one of the few commitments to date really in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
