Meteorological Day, ecological trade, fresh water… Thursday’s news

Global warming: Guterres calls for a 2023 “of transformations, not touch-ups”

He General secretary of the United Nations highlighted this Thursday that each year that passes without adequate measures being taken to reduce global warming below 1.5ºC “takes us closer to the brink of the abyss, increasing systemic risks and reducing our resistance to the climatic catastrophes”.

For this reason, in his message for World Meteorological Day, which is celebrated every March 23, António Guterres called for 2023 to be “a year of transformation, not of tinkering.”

Guterres said that the theme chosen this year for the celebration, the future of time, climate and water through generations, “obliges us all to live up to our responsibilities and to guarantee that future generations inherit a better future”.

To achieve this, he called for the “radical” transformation of energy and transportation systems, ending dependence on fossil fuels, and adopting a just transition to renewable energy.

The World Meteorological Organization looks to the past to grow in the future

For its part, the World Meteorological OrganizationWMO) recalled that this year’s celebration coincides with the 150th anniversary of its predecessor, the International Meteorological Organization.

The commemoration of this 2023 serves to highlight the past achievements, the present advances and the great future of the Organization that range from the telegraphs and maritime forecasts of the end of the 19th century to the current supercomputers and space technology.

The Secretary General of the Organization, Professor Petteri Taalas, stressed that “weather, climate and water know no national or political borders” and that “the need for international cooperation has guided” the work of the agency since 1873 and will continue to do so in the future”.

Among the future objectives that Taalas put on the table, he highlighted the achievement of “a world more resistant to extreme meteorological, climatic and hydrological phenomena and other environmental events” and the creation of a Global Infrastructure for Monitoring Greenhouse Gases to support the application of the Paris Agreement.

World trade slows down, but consumption of organic products increases

World trade volume reached a record $32 trillion last year, but deteriorating economic conditions and increased instability led to negative business growth in the last half of 2022a paralysis that would continue in the first half of 2023.

The positive side was the good performance of trade in “ecological products”, whose growth remained strong throughout the year, according to the latest report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Trade in this type of goods grew by around 4% in the second half of the year. Its total value reached a record $1.9 trillion, representing an increase of more than $100 billion compared to 2021.

The most consumed green items were electric and hybrid vehicles (+25%), plastic-free packaging (+20%) and wind turbines (+10%).

In its recent Technology and Innovation Report, the Conference estimates that the global market for electric cars, solar and wind power, green hydrogen and other green technologies will grow to $2.1 trillion by 2030, quadrupling its current value.

The “Fresh Water Challenge” seeks to restore 300,000 kilometers of rivers

The governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and three African nations launched on Tuesday the “Fresh Water Challenge”, the largest initiative ever undertaken to restore degraded rivers, lakes and wetlands, essential ecosystems to tackle the deterioration of the global water crisis. and climate.

The project, which was announced at the United Nations Conference on Water being held in New York, aims to restore 300,000 kilometers of rivers (the equivalent of more than seven times the surface of the Earth) and 350 million hectares of wetlands (an area larger than India) by 2030.

In the last 50 years have disappeared one third of all wetlands in the world, a faster loss of natural resources than that of forests. Rivers and lakes are the most degraded ecosystems on the planet with fish populations on the verge of extinction, many of which are vital for the food security of some communities.

Healthy freshwater ecosystems benefit people and nature, and are critical to mitigating climate change as well as achieving the goals Sustainable Development Goals from the ONU.