UN secretary-general issues World Environment Day message

The United Nations secretary-general in a message has warned that environmental warning signs are evident across the globe, noting that the past eleven years have been the hottest on record, reports a press release.

In his message for World Environment Day, he said the impacts of environmental degradation extend beyond rising temperatures, pointing to polluted air, degraded land, collapsing ecosystems and disappearing biodiversity. These developments are harming health, destroying homes and deepening hunger.

The secretary-general said the world is heading for a temporary overshoot above 1.5°C and warned that every fraction of a degree of warming brings greater harm, particularly for the most vulnerable.

He said the task now is to make that overshoot as small, as short and as safe as possible, while rapidly bringing temperatures back down.

To achieve this, he called for emissions to be cut, a just transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, reductions in methane emissions, and stronger protection of forests, land and seas.

He also stressed the need to help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change that are already being felt and urged countries to fulfill climate finance commitments to developing nations in order to save lives, protect livelihoods and strengthen economies.

The secretary-general concluded by saying that this is the moment to act for the environment and for the future.