The General secretary of the UN, António Guterres, apologized on behalf of his generation to the youngest for the “state of the oceans, biodiversity and climate change” that they will inherit.
“In my generation, those of us who had political responsibilities, as is my casewe were slow, or sometimes we did not want to recognize that things were getting worse”, said the former Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during the Youth and Innovation Forum that is part of the UN Conference on the Oceans that starts this Monday in Lisbon. “And that still today, we move too slowly in relation to the need to reverse the threat, to rehabilitate the oceans, rescue biodiversity and stop climate change. We keep moving in the wrong direction.”
For the Secretary General, reversing this situation “is a generational responsibility” that goes “far beyond political leaders.”
“My generation must take responsibility for where we are. And, as the President (of Portugal) said, although we can probably do something to reverse it, his generation will inherit a planet in trouble. We will have to do everything to reverse everything: reverse political decisions, reverse economic decisions and reverse individual behavior,” said the Portuguese diplomat.
Economic leaders, he added, “have typically put profit before sustainability, caring only about shareholder values.” The most obvious case, he argued, is that of the fossil fuel industry, which “for decades has been spending millions and millions on false scientific studies, on public relations, trying to give the impression that fossil fuels were not so polluting and that climate change was not exactly what was said.
“It reminds me of the tobacco industry that did exactly the same thing, saying that tobacco was totally harmless, that there would be no health problem. It is time to seriously condemn these behaviors.” held.
a triple crisis
Now, Guterres said, we are in a situation where we are experiencing a triple crisis: climate crisis, biodiversity crisis, pollution crisis.
The ocean “is the receiving point for all these crises,” he said. “The oceans are warmer. We see how corals are destroyed. We see storms becoming more and more devastating everywhere. Overfishing is having a dramatic impact on biodiversity,” she detailed.
In addition to being a source of life, the ocean stabilizes the climate and accumulates carbon, acting as a giant sink for greenhouse gases.
According to figures from the UN, about 680 million people live in low-lying coastal areas, a figure that will increase to about a billion in 2050. In addition, the latest analyzes estimate that industrial activities based on the use of the oceans will employ 40 million people by the end of this decade.
“His generation will be essential. Now to live now. Tomorrow, to be able to manage and reverse this trend and rescue the planet, and I wish you the best of success. The success that, unfortunately, my generation could not have”, concluded Guterres.
The Conference on the Oceans
Ocean Image Bank/Jayne Jenkins
Fish swimming in a coral reef in French Polynesia, in the Pacific Ocean.
The objective of the Conference on the Oceans, which will take place between June 27 and July 1, is to mark a new era in relation to the seas. To this end, it will have the presence of governments, non-governmental organizations and universities, as well as businessmen who will seek ways to promote the so-called “blue economy” and highlight the link between the state of the oceans and climate change.
Concrete measures, and not just commitments, are expected to emerge from the Conference to combat water acidification, pollution, illegal fishing, and the loss of habitats and biodiversity.
The Conference will also determine the level of ambition in the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
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