Deprivation of natural resources, growing number of refugees across the world, violent conflicts and vulnerabilities to natural disasters – our planet is fast losing its resources – thanks to continued human exploitation and plundering.
Claiming that the world’s efforts have not been “ambitious enough”, the United Nations stated that a faster response is indeed required to achieve the 2030 global agenda, reports India Today.
The impact of climate change and growing inequality in the world is a sign of continued struggle and distress, which requires better response from each country.
Further identifying extreme poverty reduction, widespread immunisation, decrease in child mortality rates and improvement in the availability basic amenities as few of the many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations said:
It is abundantly clear that a much deeper, faster and more ambitious response is needed to unleash the social and economic transformation needed to achieve our 2030 goals.
Targeting the grim realities of global warming, the UN described it as an “existential threat”, probing on pointers like greenhouse gas emissions, accelerating rate of climate change and ocean acidity to name a few.
Fearing the rate of CO2 emissions will increase 150% by the year 2100, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said:
The natural environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate: sea levels are rising; ocean acidification is accelerating; the last four years have been the warmest on record; one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, and land degradation continues unchecked.
Stressing on building better international relations for a better future, Liu Zhenmin, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs believed the clock for taking decisive actions on climate change is ticking.
Liu spoke for the UN, saying:
The challenges highlighted in this report are global problems that require global solutions. Just as problems are interrelated, the solutions to poverty, inequality, climate change and other global challenges are also interlinked.
To re-energise and bring all the world leaders on the same page, the UN will host the SDGs and Climate Action Summits along with other crucial meetings, in September.
