‘Don’t flood the world today; don’t drown it tomorrow’, UN Chief implores leaders
(United Nations News) As hundreds of Heads of State and Government prepare to fly into New York for the General Debate of the new General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on them to bring hope to a fractured world, and increase efforts to fight the climate crisis.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Guterres promised to address the many challenging issues facing the planet, in his speech next week to the General Assembly, which will also contain concrete recommendations for lasting solutions, and a call to action.
The UN chief began by recalling the devastation he witnessed on his recent trip to flood-hit Pakistan, which he described as a window into a “future of permanent and ubiquitous climate chaos on an unimaginable scale”.
Mr. Guterres, who is from Portugal, noted that the flooding covers an area three times the size of his homeland.
In typically uncompromising language, he lambasted the global response to the climate crisis as inadequate, unjust and, at its heart, a betrayal. “Whether it’s Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, small islands or Least Developed Countries, the world’s most vulnerable – who did nothing to cause this crisis – are paying a horrific price for decades of intransigence by big emitters”.
Read more at: United Nations News
Source: CARICOM TODAY