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Five years after the United Nations climate agreement was reached, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on all countries in the world to declare a "climate emergency".
This should apply until CO2 neutrality has been achieved, i.e. the bottom line is that no additional greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, said Guterres on Saturday at the start of a one-day, digital climate summit.
In Paris, the states had promised to limit the temperature rise as close to 1.5 degrees as possible, Guterres said.
But the climate protection commitments made there were not enough, and not even these would be kept.
If the world community does not change course, a catastrophic rise in temperature of more than three degrees is expected in this century.
"Can anyone deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?"
38 states have already declared the "climate emergency", said Guterres.
In doing so, they take into account the urgency and risk.
"I urge everyone else to join in." The world is not doomed to failure.
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Many cities, regions and states have already declared a climate emergency or emergency, the European Parliament declared it for the entire EU in November 2019.
As a rule, this is a symbolic act that underlines the urgency of the climate crisis.
The upswing after the corona pandemic offers an opportunity to lead the economy and society on a “green path”.
“But that's not happening yet,” Guterres warned.
In their economic stimulus packages, the economically strong G-20 states are spending 50 percent more on areas that have to do 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.