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- Many prominent politicians, scientists and activists called for stronger and faster efforts in the fight against the climate crisis on Saturday.
- More than 50 speakers, including UN Secretary General António Guterres, Pope Francis and Britain’s Prince William, attended the live virtual event.
- The “Countdown” initiative, which aims to cut climate emissions in half by 2030, called for the campaign.
“The climate has reached a global crisis point,” said Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The Swedish earth system researcher pointed to extreme fires, heat and floods in the last ten years.
The world faces many tipping points with the “real danger of destabilizing the entire planet,” Rockström stressed. Greenhouse gas emissions should be cut in half by 2030 and cut to zero by 2050 at the latest, he warned.
“We only have a few years”
Pope Francis called for a radical rethinking and swift action for environmental protection and social justice. The pontiff said that the provision of clean water and sufficient food is a human right. Fossil fuels would have to be gradually replaced by clean energy “without delay”.
“We only have a few years to do this,” the head of about 1.3 billion Catholics warned.
“Don’t save the polluters”
“We have to make sure that every country, every city, company, bank and international organization has a plan to achieve climate neutrality,” UN chief Guterres said in a video message.
Governments should use the funds available for green jobs after the corona pandemic. “Don’t save any polluting industries, especially coal, and end fossil fuel subsidies,” he said.
“The damage will be irreversible”
“If we do not act in this decade, the damage will be irreversible,” warned British Prince William. Royal, 38, spoke from the park around Windsor Castle. Here are oak trees that are almost 1000 years old, which, like the rest of the world, are threatened by climate change.
A few days ago, William and his environmental foundation launched the lavish “Earthshot” award to find solutions to the world’s biggest environmental problems. By 2030, five prizes worth one million pounds (around 1.1 million euros) will be awarded each year.
The five-hour event, which was moderated by stars such as Jane Fonda, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, was also attended by the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the former US Vice President Al Gore, the climate activist 18-year-old Xiye Bastida, Danish artist Ólafur Elíasson and Norwegian singer Sigrid participated.
