We are on a highway to climate hell with our feet on the accelerator. This was the stern message shared by United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres during a no-holds-barred speech on the opening day of Cop27 in Egypt.
The conference is attracting world leaders, researchers and climate change activists who are deliberating on climate change issues and mitigating strategies. The climate crisis and its impact on agriculture and food systems is also high on the agenda.
Setting the tone, Guterres called on countries to increase their efforts with early warnings against increasingly extreme and dangerous weather. He was unveiling the executive action plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative yesterday.
“This United Nations conference should be a reminder that the answer of how to save this planet was in our hands, the clock is ticking we are in the fight of our lives, and we are losing,” he said.
“Greenhouse emissions keep growing, global temperatures keep rising and our planet is slowly reaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. We are on our way to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
According to Guterres, both the developing and developed countries needed to come with a solidarity pack on how best to fight climate change.
“A pack in which each and every country makes an effort to reduce emissions in line with the 1.3 goal. A pack in which wealthier countries and international financial institutions provide financial and technical assistance to help emerging economies to speed their renewal energy transitions,” he pointed out.
Leaders need to act
Climate change activist, Leah Namugerwa from Uganda is also attendance this year’s climate talk talks. Taking to stage, Namugerwa said that at the tender age of 15, she started a project of planting trees because of how harsh weather conditions were killing her people in the East-African country.
“Individually everyone has a role to play to save our dear planet. I plant trees at people backyards as a way of fighting climate change. I have a goal of planting 1 million trees and more.
“I do not think is justice to younger people when rivers and dams are polluted, is it justice for world leaders to choose profit over lives,” she highlighted.
The future is not looking good for especially young people in Africa, Namugerwa said. She also questioned that young people’s voice are being heard on climate discussions and action plans.
Because Cop27 is taking place in Africa this year, the conference needed to deliver on solutions that would better the lives of young people in the continent.
In an interview with Food For Mzansi, A South African climate change activist, Thapelo Phiri Jr said that during Cop26, none of their ideas and recommendations as young people were implemented.
“During Cop26, [as] young people from Africa and Europe, we tabled recommendations that there needed to be an inclusive economy in agriculture. There is a need to focus on regenerative agriculture and focus on organic methods for farming.
“When it comes to climate change and the effects it has on agriculture, Africa is failing to prioritise its own needs ahead of this crucial meeting which is happening in Africa,” Phiri said.
ALSO READ: Cop27: ‘Africa needs voices of change’
No time for hesitation
The president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on leaders to take charge. Climate change, he pointed out would not stop without everyone’s intervention.
“Our time here is limited, and we must use every second of it wisely. But we have enough time to ensure implementation. The is no time to step back.
“The is no time for hesitation, for the sake of future generations here and now we are facing a unique and historic moment, the last chance to meet our responsibilities which are implementation and implementation,” he said.
Over the next two week, more than 8 billion people around the world will watch the United Nations climate change conference closely with high expectations.
High up on today’s agenda is South Africa’s low-carbon, climate-resilient and just transition, the human face of climate change and much more.
- Stay tuned to Food For Mzansi for the latest Cop27 developments.
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