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“We need to be prepared for this crisis, unless we radically change the way we live so far, to be followed by another, and even more severe, than Covid.” said President János Áder in a video speech at the 75th UN General Assembly in Washington.
According to him, the most important questions of the present are whether we can learn from the crisis and if we are finally doing something in areas where we have known for a long time that there is a threat, we have long known what must be done and we also know that procrastination only may increase risks and costs.
He said that we are still not able to defend ourselves from the coronavirus epidemic, which is causing an economic and then social crisis in the short term.
In other areas, however, we have known for years what to do.
It has been apparent for a long time, he said, “that the way of life we have developed is unsustainable. Every year, we use more resources than nature can replace. To think that natural resources – water, soil, air, various biological environments – are available to us indefinitely, cheaply and until the end of time is a waste, ”he said.
Within the theme, he addressed the issue of water separately. The “water crisis unfolding before our eyes” has already been debated several times at the UN. The drama of too much water, little water and contaminated water, ”he said. He then declared: “We all know that most of the UN’s sustainability goals are unattainable without a proper water policy.”
He explained the related tasks in four points.
- Until one in seven people in the world has access to clean drinking water, we cannot hope to increase productivity in impoverished areas.
- Until water contamination is avoided, half of hospital beds will remain occupied by people suffering from pollution-related diseases.
- Until we create the conditions for sustainable water management, food production will not be safer, not only for newborns but also for those already here.
- Until we transform our energy production systems, coal-fired power plants will not only increase CO2 emissions, but will also use enough water to supply one billion people.
He explained.
According to him, the solution to sustainability problems could be a “circular economy” in which “waste, such as glass, plastic, metal, is not waste, but recyclable raw material”. In this, however, he said, the world has not made much progress in the recent period.
Regarding Hungary: according to Áder, “Until now we have not been in favor of sterile deliberations, but of action”
That is why we have organized three World Water Meetings in Budapest, and we will also organize a sustainability exhibition at the end of next year, to which Budapest welcomes everyone.
From an audience with a quote from Winston Churchill: “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”.
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