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- At the virtual summit on the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called for a global climate emergency to be declared.
- The rebound after the corona pandemic offers an opportunity to put the economy and society on a “green path,” Guterres said.
- US President-designate Joe Biden also promises America’s return to the climate deal.
The climate emergency must apply until climate neutrality is achieved, António Guterres said at the virtual climate summit. The term is understood to mean that human production of carbon dioxide no longer has any influence on the concentration of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. More than 70 heads of state and government participated in the videoconference.
Guterres’ appeal comes five years after the United Nations climate agreement was reached in Paris. At this summit, the United Nations had promised to limit the temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees. According to Guterres, the commitments made there with regard to climate protection are not enough, they would not even be fulfilled.
38 countries have already declared a climate emergency, Guterres said, urging everyone else to do the same. The world is not doomed. Many cities, regions and states have already declared a climate emergency, the European Parliament declared it for the entire EU in 2019. This exclamation is primarily a symbolic act meant to underline the urgency of the climate crisis.
If the world community does not change course, a catastrophic three-degree rise in temperature is likely. “Can anyone deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?” Guterres emphasized.
Biden is also aware of the urgency
In their economic stimulus packages, the economically strong G20 states are spending 50 percent more on areas dealing with the production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas than on climate-friendly energy. “That is not acceptable,” said the UN secretary general.
Legend:
The climate emergency must apply until climate neutrality is achieved, António Guterres said at the virtual climate summit.
Reuters
Newly-elected US President Joe Biden announced at the digital climate summit without US involvement that the US would rejoin the Paris Agreement on the first day of his presidency. The future president wants the United States to assume world leadership in the fight against global warming.
And what is Switzerland doing?
Samira Marti (SP) presented a motion in March 2019 to declare a climate emergency and develop all the necessary legal bases, but this has not yet been addressed in the council.
But the Federal Council commented on the motion in May 2019, writing: “The Federal Council considers it more convenient to work towards a catchy global regime at the international level and to initiate the transformation towards a climate-friendly production method and society at the national level. “. Request that the motion be rejected.
