Visiting Fiji for the first time as Secretary-General, António Guterres outlined two “fundamental challenges” facing leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum, namely climate change and the world’s rising ocean, which threatens to submerge low-lying nations.
“The Pacific region is on the frontline of climate change”, he said. “That means you are also our important allies in the fight against it”.
Noting that the last four years were the hottest on record, Mr. Guterres highlighted recent ice losses in Greenland and Antarctica, saying that sea levels will rise a full meter by 2100.
In the Pacific specifically, he said that sea-levels are set to rise in some countries four times above the global average, posing “an existential threat to some island States”.
Providing ample evidence of the region’s vulnerability the UN chief cited recent damage caused by Tropical Cyclones Gita, Josie and Keni as well as by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and other extreme weather events in the region.
Climate change also threatens the well-being of the world’s ocean and seas, which are critical to the economies and traditions of the Pacific.
“Oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, causing coral bleaching and reducing biodiversity,” the UN chief told the Forum, stating that global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius would cause “severe damage to tropical reefs”.
To address the intertwined challenges of climate change and ocean health, smart and far-reaching steps are needed that require action aligned with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
Mr. Guterres spoke of his Climate Action Summit in September at UN Headquarters, as an opportunity “to scale up” pledges to halt emission increases 2020, and “dramatically reduce” them to net-zero emissions by mid-century.
He also stressed the importance of gender diversity in decision making as climate change has impacts on women, citing as an example that food salinization affects the health of pregnant women and newborns.
Original source: UN News
Published on 14 May 2019
