UN Chief Calls For Leadership In Climate Action Ahead Of COP26 Climate Summit In Glasgow

New York: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday (October 26) stressed the need to close the “leadership gap” in climate action before the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. He made the plea at the launch of the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report 2021, entitled “The Heat Is On.” The report shows that with the present Nationally Determined Contributions and other firm commitments of countries around the world, the world is on track for a catastrophic global temperature rise of around 2.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, he said.

Also Read: Explainer: What Is COP26 And Why Is It So Important For Tackling Climate Change Crisis?

As the title of this year’s report puts it: ‘The heat is on.’ And as the contents of the report show: the leadership we need is off. Far off. The clock is ticking. The emissions gap is the result of a leadership gap. But leaders can still make this a turning point to a greener future instead of a tipping point to climate catastrophe, he said.

“The era of half measures and hollow promises must end. The time for closing the leadership gap must begin in Glasgow.”

As world leaders prepare for Glasgow, this report is another thundering wake-up call. Unless global carbon emissions are reduced by 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, the Paris Agreement goal of temperature rise of 1.5 degrees will not be obtained, he said. Scientists are clear on the facts. Now leaders need to be just as clear in their actions. They need to come to Glasgow with bold, time-bound, front-loaded plans to reach net-zero emissions, he said.

Also Read: Implementation Of SDGs Needs Efforts Of Society As A Whole: India’s Permanent Representative To UN

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.