Eröffnungsrede der UN-Generaldebatte von António Guterres, 20.9.2022 (engl. Originalfassung)
The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time. It must be the first priority of every government and multilateral organization. And yet climate action is being put on the back burner – despite overwhelming public support around the world. Global greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed by 45 percent by 2030 to have any hope of reaching net zero by 2050. And yet emissions are going up at record levels – on course to a 14 percent increase this decade.
We have a rendezvous with climate disaster. I recently saw it with my own eyes in Pakistan – where one-third of the country is submerged by a monsoon on steroids. We see it everywhere. Planet earth is a victim of scorched earth policies. The past year has brought us Europe’s worst heatwave since the Middle Ages. Megadrought in China, the United States and beyond.
Famine stalking the Horn of Africa. One million species at risk of extinction. No region is untouched. And we ain’t seen nothing yet.
The hottest summers of today may be the coolest summers of tomorrow. Once-in-a-lifetime climate shocks may soon become once a year events. And with every climate disaster, we know that women and girls are the most affected.
The climate crisis is a case study in moral and economic injustice. The G20 emits 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. But the poorest and most vulnerable – those who contributed least to this crisis – are bearing its most brutal impacts.
Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry is feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns.
Die vollständige Rede finden Sie hier.