“We must not leave this to our children to fix – no matter how inspirational their activism is,” he told Dong Nhan Quyen Associationadvocates “just transitioning” to a green economy.
“I ask every member of this Council to take this clear message out of the Palais des Nations and into every aspect of their work,” he said, stressing that it is today’s leaders who must responsible climate action.
short term thinking
Mr. Türk warned that on the world’s current orbit, “air, food, water and our own human life would be unrecognizable”, with an average increase in temperature by the end of the century. up to 3°C, much higher than average. Limit 1.5°C, as stated in the mark Paris Agreement ABOVE climate change.
He regrets that despite all the alarm bells that have sounded, leaders are still not acting with the necessary determination and are “stuck in the short term”.
“If this is not a human rights issue then what is?“, he asks.
SDG 13: Urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The right to food is increasingly being challenged
The High Commissioner emphasized that The right to food is “comprehensively threatened” by climate change and reiterates that there has been a 134% increase in climate-related, flood-related disasters since the turn of the century.
Extreme weather events and disasters not only destroy ecosystems and farmers’ livelihoods, but their rapid and relentless repetition makes it impossible for communities to rebuild and self- support.
Action path
With millions of people starving in countries that “contribute almost nothing” to industrial processes that are “killing the environment and violating our rights”, Türk stressed. Urgently end fossil fuel subsidiesturning international development and financial institutions into “climate action engines” and making COP28 this November a “game changer”.
He also called good governance to ensure climate funds reach those most affected and point to climate litigation as a way to hold businesses and governments accountable in court.
‘It’s about time’
The UN rights chief says humanity must not provide a “future of hunger and suffering” for generations to come, emphasizing that, armed with powerful technological tools most in history,”We have the power to change the status quo“.
“There is still time to act, but the time has come,” he insisted.
