Runaway climate change still “a real possibility,” says UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, SEPT. 6 — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the climate change is “running faster than we are,” and runaway climate change is still a real possibility.
Greater ambition, urgency and action are needed “if we are to prevent ever greater climate-related crises,” said the UN chief at the launch of the 2018 New Climate Economy report, at UN headquarters in New York.
The document, published by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, finds that the benefits of smarter and clearer growth are significantly under-estimated, and that bold climate action could deliver 26 trillion U.S. dollars in economic benefits through to 2030.
Switching to a clean economy will also create over 65 million new low-carbon jobs, and reduce air pollution-related deaths by 700,000, among others.
Speaking at the launch, the secretary-general said that momentum for climate action is growing every day, and shifting to a sustainable growth path has many benefits.
Guterres said that clean energy system helps developing countries, noting that “it can help deliver access to energy to the one billion people who currently lack electricity.”
The UN chief gave the example of Bangladesh, which has installed more than 4 million solar home systems. “This has created more than 115,000 jobs and saved rural households over 400 million dollars in polluting fuels,” he said.
Underlining the risks faced by the world, the UN chief said that climate change is “running faster than we are,” and that women, the poorest and the most vulnerable are hit first and worst by storms, floods, droughts, wildfires and rising seas.
Guterres said that the last 19 years included 18 of the warmest on record, that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise, and that there is still a significant gap between national commitments to lower emissions, and actual reductions. – XINHUA