Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 15 May 2019
U.N. chief says ‘total disaster’ if warming not stopped

By SETH BORENSTEIN and ing, let alone 0.9 degrees.
EDITH M. LEDERER And in an odd way that
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — gives the U.N. chief opti-
The United Nations secre- mism.
tary-general said the world Because as disasters mount
must dramatically change and deaths increase, the
the way it fuels factories, public, especially youths,
vehicles and homes to limit will realize that warming
future warming to a level is “a dramatic threat to
scientists call nearly impos- the whole of humankind,”
sible. Guterres said.
That’s because the alter- So the worse it gets, the
native “would mean a more people will demand
catastrophic situation for change, he said.
the whole world,” António That’s why he’s about to
Guterres told The Associ- visit the islands of Fiji, Tuvalu
ated Press in an exclusive and Vanuatu in the Pa-
interview. cific Ocean, which he said
Guterres said he’s about is hit hardest by climate
to tour Pacific islands to change.
see how climate change Guterres said he wants to
is devastating them as part use the determination and
of his renewed push to fight moral authority of the peo-
it. He is summoning world United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is photographed during an interview at United ple who live on the threat-
leaders to the U.N. in Sep- Nations headquarters on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. ened islands to convince
tember to tell them “they Associated Press world leaders to make nec-
need to do much more in rise. in his 38th floor conference cally accelerate... what essary change.
order for us to be able to In 2015, the world’s nations room. everybody knows needs to Here are some excerpts
reverse the present trends set a goal to limit global If countries only do what be done.” from the 25-minute inter-
and to defeat the climate warming to no more than they promised in the 2015 Yet, globally the trends view with Guterres, who
change.” 0.9 degrees (0.5 degrees Paris climate agreement, are going the other way. said he used to love steak
That means, he said, the Celsius) from now. Most it would be catastrophic University of Michigan en- houses but now only goes
world has to change, not scientists say it is highly un- because the world would vironment dean Jonathan once every three months
in small incremental ways likely, if not outright undo- warm by another 4.5 de- Overpeck said it looks un- because livestock contrib-
but in big “transformative” able, to keep man-made grees (2.5 degrees Celsius), likely that the world could ute significantly to warm-
ways, into a green econ- climate change that low, Guterres said, adding “that prevent another 1.8 de- ing. The questions and an-
omy with electric vehicles especially since emissions is why we need to dramati- grees (1 Celsius) of warm- swers have been edited for
and “clean cities.” of heat trapping gases are
Guterres said he will ask rising, renewable energy
leaders to stop subsidizing growth is plateauing, and Brazil cancels another U.N.
fossil fuels. Burning coal, oil some countries’ leaders
and gas triggers warming and voters are balking. A climate change event
by releasing heat-trapping panel of scientists the U.N.
gases. asked to look at the issue
He said he wants countries ran computer models for
to build no new coal power more than 500 future sce- ANNA JEAN KAISER sue” and says he wants to vironmental issues, like sani-
plants after 2020. He wants narios, and less than 2% Associated Press focus on everyday prob- tation, clean waterways,
them to put a price on the achieved those warming RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Af- lems like sanitation. trash collection, have ev-
use of carbon. And ulti- limits. ter backing out of hosting Salvador’s sustainabil- erything to do with climate
mately he wants to make Guterres said the whole- the 2019 U.N. climate sum- ity secretary, Andre Fraga, change,” Fraga said.
sure that by 2050 the world sale economic changes mit, Brazil has now can- criticized the cancellation In a recent radio interview,
is no longer putting more needed to keep the tem- celed a United Nations cli- of the regional climate the environment minister
greenhouse gases into the perature from rising an- mate change event that workshop. said he was more inter-
air than nature sucks out. other degree or more may was to be held in August in “It’s very bad for Brazil’s ested in dealing with the
Global temperatures have be painful, but there will be the city of Salvador. image,” Fraga told The problems that affect Brazil-
already risen about 1.8 de- more pain if the world fails. The decision that came to Associated Press. “It’s sad ians who aren’t concerned
grees (1 degree Celsius) “If you don’t hang on light Tuesday was the latest to see Brazil losing an op- about “climate change
since the industrial age be- to that goal, what you’ll blow to climate change portunity to be a leader in in Paris” or “meetings in
gan. The issue is how much achieve is a total disaster,” consensus by the new gov- the world’s fight against cli- Stockholm.”
more the thermometers will the secretary-general said ernment of far-right Presi- mate change.” “They think I’m going to
dent Jair Bolsonaro. He said local governments stop everything in the min-
The Environment Ministry in Brazil will continue to istry for seminaries and
said the event was con- make efforts against cli- give money to NGOs to do
ceived by a previous ad- mate change even if the studies? That’s what they
ministration as a part of the federal government is not want!” Salles said.
U.N.’s COP25 conference, behind them. “It’s an industry,” he said of
which Brazil pulled out of “They say they want to fo- the environmental move-
hosting late last year, citing cus on urban issues, but ment.
budget reasons. anyone with the minimum “It’s an industry of con-
Environment Minister Ricar- amount of knowledge sultants, an industry of
do Salles has called climate about science and climate lectures, an industry of
change a “secondary is- would know that urban en- seminars.”q