At the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned world leaders that humanity must “get up” and address the issue of climate change.
Johnson criticized the world’s insufficient reaction to the climate problem and encouraged mankind to “heed to the warnings of the scientists,” citing the Covid-19 epidemic as “an example of gloomy experts being proven correct.”
“We still cling to the infantile notion that the universe was designed for our delight and pleasure using portions of our intellect,” he added. “And we mix our narcissism with a belief in our own invincibility.”
“We think that someone else will clean up the mess,” he said, “because that is what someone else has always done.” “We destroy our ecosystems again and over again, relying on the inductive logic that we’ve gotten away with it before, therefore we’ll get away with it again.”
“My friends, humanity’s adolescence is drawing to a close and must draw to a close.”
The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, known as COP26, in November was hailed by Johnson as a “turning moment for mankind.”
He stated that world leaders must arrive in Scotland prepared to make the required pledges. Although it is “too late” to halt global warming, the globe can still “restrain that increase” to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified the 1.5-degree threshold as a critical tipping point beyond which the danger of catastrophic drought, wildfires, floods, and food shortages would skyrocket. According to the World Meteorological Organization, we now have an approximately 40% probability of reaching that level over the next five years, even if just temporarily.
To avoid crossing that line, Johnson said on Wednesday that “we need to vow collectively to achieve carbon neutrality, net zero, by the middle of the century.” “We need all countries, each and every one of you, to increase your commitment to significant reductions by 2030.”
On Monday, the Prime Minister met privately with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and other international leaders to encourage countries to contribute funds to assist impoverished countries in their transition away from fossil fuels.
Climate change has been a major theme of the summit so far, and Johnson’s appeal appears to have struck a chord with other global leaders worried about the problem. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden stated that the US will increase its financial contribution to poor countries to assist them deal with the climate problem.
Johnson praised Obama’s address as “the most significant thing today” at a meeting with Biden on Tuesday.
President Xi Jinping of China has announced a big new commitment to cease building coal projects in other countries and to enhance financial assistance for green and low-carbon energy projects in other developing nations.