UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that «disastrous» consequences will result if no action is taken over the next two years.
According to Marie Bourreau, a correspondent for the newspaper *Le Monde* in an article published on September 10, “The head of the United Nations called for pressure to be brought to bear on the signatory states (of the Paris Agreement—Ed.) to raise their commitments.”. «It is imperative that civil society—young people, women's groups, the private sector, religious communities, scientists, and environmental movements around the world—hold their leaders accountable.» For decades, «Scientists have warned us time and time again». But «Far too many leaders have refused to listen to them».”
As early as last April, the UN sounded the alarm at a meeting of 200 countries—signatories to the Paris Agreement—at COP 21: “The window of opportunity we have to tackle climate change is closing,” said UN Climate Chief Patricia Espinosa in Bonn. “We must radically increase our ambitions,” she insisted.
In fact, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit global warming to below 2°C—or even 1.5°C—compared to pre-industrial levels, and this goal is “the bare minimum to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” according to a United Nations study. However, the commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions made so far by the signatory states would lead to a world that is 3°C warmer—which would be unsustainable for life on Earth.
So far, the member countries of this agreement have not met the established targets; some, such as the United States, have even backtracked on their commitments…
Yet climate change is already clearly visible all around us and throughout the world, with its string of natural disasters, and while the urgency of the situation may not be obvious to policymakers, civil society, for its part, has fully recognized the issue, and actions are multiplying worldwide to hold governments accountable and to individually initiate behavioral change.
Thus, 2018 is a crucial year in the fight against global warming, which will culminate with COP 24 (the UN Climate Change Conference) in December in Poland. But climate change is now advancing faster than government action, and it would be a crime against all of humanity to do nothing while there is still time—even if there is very little time left!
Nathalie Laulé
