\n
<\/p>\n
Humanity must put an
\nend to the war against nature, the planet is fighting back and there is a
\ndanger global warming could pass ‘the point of no return’, warned the UN
\nSecretary- General Antonio Guterres, in a speech held before the recent UN
\nClimate Change Conference. He described the attempts to meet the CO2 emissions
\nreduction targets as utterly inadequate, but showed confidence that firmer
\ncommitments would be made at the Madrid conference. Big countries, such as the
\nUS and Brazil, have resisted the pressure to intensify efforts to combat global
\nwarming, to the discontent of the smaller states and despite protest movements
\ncalling for urgent measures. Therefore, the summit in Madrid, seen as a test for
\nthe collective will of the governments to listen to advice coming from
\nresearchers, who warn that temperatures are about to reach an irreversible
\nlevel, was far from being a success.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The summit was held after
\n the adoption in late November by the
\nEuropean Parliament of a resolution declaring a climate and environmental
\nemergency in Europe and globally. The document calls on the EU to become
\nclimate neutral by 2050, in keeping with the Paris agreement. As the EP
\nPresident David Sassoli has stressed, climate change faces us with huge risks
\nand this has become obvious to everybody. We must invest in clean technologies
\nto respond to the millions of young people who took to the streets and to those
\nwho came to the European Parliament to remind us all that we do not have
\nanother planet, Sassoli has said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Paris agreement has been signed by 194 countries and the EU.
\nBrussels’ current objective is to cut CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030, as against
\nthe levels registered in 1990. Despite all that, the pressure is growing to set
\na more ambitious level, and this is supported by the new president of the
\nEuropean Commission Ursula von der Leyen:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This is an existential issue for Europe – and for the world. How
\ncan it not be existential when 85% of people in extreme poverty live in the 20
\ncountries most vulnerable to climate change? How can it not be existential when
\nwe see Venice under water, Portugal’s forests on fire or Lithuania’s harvests
\ncut by half because of droughts? This has happened before but never with the same
\nfrequency or intensity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The European Commission is preparing for March a law that would
\nmade climate neutrality in the EU irreversible. The first EU-wide ‘climate law’
\nwould enshrine a legally binding target of reaching net-zero carbon by 2050 and
\nit entails the involvement of all economic sectors, according to Ursula von der
\nLeyen. Speaking at a round table attended by world leaders, Ms von der Leyen
\nreferred to an investment plan for the implementation of climate actions based
\non investigation, innovation and new technologies. This plan will be supported
\nby one billion Euros to be spent in the coming ten years, and the president of the European
\nCommission has stressed that, although some are complaining about too big the
\ncosts, they should do some math and see that, unless measures are taken to curb
\nthe negative effects of green house gases, the costs will be higher. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization has too warned about the impact of
\nclimate change on human health. A growing number of people are suffering from
\npollution, stress caused by extreme heat, and every year, 7 million people die
\nbecause of air contamination. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is the Radio Romania correspondent to Madrid, Annamaria
\nDamian:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Asthma, lung diseases, lung cancer, pneumonia,
\ninfarction, strokes, are some of the many diseases associated with pollution. A
\nWHO representative explained in Madrid that people pay in health the price for
\nthe lack of effective measures against climate change. One major problem is
\nthat less than 1% of the international funding for curbing the effects of
\npollution goes to health-care, which experts say is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The European Commission has proposed the creation of a transition
\nfund, in order not leave behind those who must take bigger steps to achieve
\nclimate neutrality. The fund should include both public and private money, with
\nfinancing provided by the European Investment Bank. What is certain is that
\nturning Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is a big
\nchallenge. In order to achieve that, the European Commission has presented the European
\npact for the environment, the most ambitious package of measures aimed at
\nensuring the transition towards a green and sustainable economy. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Global warming could pass ‘the point of no return’, warned the UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres, in a speech held before the recent UN Climate Change Conference<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":156225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-156224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n